Gardner Denver buying nash_elmo Holdings

Quincy, IL—To complement its compressed air products and widen its global presence, Gardner Denver Inc. reports that it's buying nash_elmo Holdings LLC for $223.5 million in cash.

By Control Engineering Staff August 3, 2004

Quincy, IL— To complement its compressed air products and widen its global presence, Gardner Denver Inc. reports that it’s buying nash_elmo Holdings LLC for $223.5 million in cash.

nash_elmo manufactures industrial vacuum pumps, and had $212.4 million in revenues and $7.8 million in earnings before taxes in 2003. The company’s primary manufacturing locations are located in Bad Neustadt and Nuremberg, Germany; Zibo, China; and Campinas, Brazil.

nash_elmo’s other worldwide locations support sales, customer service, distribution, and packaging of its vacuum pump systems. nash_elmo was formed by the merger of Nash Engineering Co. (Trumbull, CT) and elmo vacuum technology GmbH (Nuremberg, Germany) in 2002. As a result of the merger, Audax Private Equity (Boston, MA) has held controlling ownership interest in nash_elmo, while Nash Engineering has retained a minority ownership interest.

‘We’re very pleased at the prospect of adding the nash_elmo businesses to Gardner Denver. The Nash and elmo names are well-established in industrial vacuum applications, and the acquisition continues the global diversification of our revenue base. More than two-thirds of nash_elmo sales are to customers outside the U.S.,’ says Ross Centanni, Gardner Denver’s president and CEO. ‘The liquid ring vacuum pump and side channel blower product lines, nash_elmo’s strengths, are complementary to the existing product portfolio of our compressed air products segment. nash_elmo has a proven track record of successful international operations, with significant manufacturing operations on three continents. Consistent with our stated strategic goals, this acquisition would further expand the international scope of our business, permitting us to capitalize on greater opportunities to better serve customers on a global basis.’

The acquisition is expected to close during 2004’s third quarter. Closing is subject to customary conditions including applicable regulatory approvals. There are certain non-recurring, non-cash adjustments required under accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S., primarily the adjustment of inventory to fair value, which are expected to result in a mildly dilutive impact on Gardner Denver’s net income in 2004, assuming a third quarter closing. This acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings for years after 2004.

Gardner Denver, with revenues of $440 million in 2003, inclusing $578 million on a pro forma basis including Syltone, is a leading manufacturer of reciprocating, rotary and vane compressors and blowers for various industrial and transportation applications; pumps used in the petroleum and industrial markets; and other fluid transfer equipment serving chemical, petroleum and food industries.

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news editorjmontague@reedbsiness.com