Anvil International, a portfolio company of One Equity Partners, has acquired AFCON, a provider of fire protection pipe hangers and seismic bracing products. One Equity Partners acquired Anvil in January 2017 from publicly-traded Mueller Water Products.
AFCON manufactures a range of fire protection products, including clamps, pipe hangers and sway brace fittings that are used with a variety of pipes and copper system piping to minimize damage to fire suppression systems during earthquakes. The company began production of its AFCON Model A spray sprinkler in 1953 and its patented AFCON Model A sway brace in 1968. The company was founded by Joe Kirschner and is headquartered near Los Angeles in El Monte, CA (www.afcon.org).
Anvil manufactures pipe couplings, steel fittings, hangers, channel connections, strut fittings and other components that are used in plumbing, mechanical, HVAC, industrial, fire protection, commercial, mining, and oil field infrastructure applications. The company’s products are sold through a network of more than 1,000 distributors. Company owned brand names include Anvil, Beck, Gruvlok, Merit, and Catawissa. Anvil’s products are produced at seven manufacturing plants located in Pennsylvania, Texas, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Alabama. The company also operates six distribution centers and sources its products globally. Anvil is headquartered in Exeter, NH (www.anvilintl.com).
“We’re pleased to be making progress on our strategic vision for Anvil so quickly,” said Andrew Oliver, Managing Director at One Equity Partners. “By completing this acquisition within the first three months of our ownership, we and the Anvil team are confident in our successful ongoing collaboration. The North American pipe fittings and components systems industry is a large and highly fragmented market with attractive characteristics. Anvil is an excellent platform to apply our strategy of using transformative combinations to build market-leading companies.”
One Equity Partners is a middle-market private equity firm that invests in industrial, healthcare, and technology companies that are based in North America and Europe. Since 2001, the firm has invested in more than 140 transactions worldwide. One Equity, founded in 2001, spun out of JP Morgan in 2015. The firm has offices in New York and Chicago, and an advisory office in Frankfurt, Germany (www.oneequity.com).
“AFCON’s history of innovation and producing contractor-friendly products made this a perfect fit for our company,” said Tom Fish, President of Anvil International. “It is a superb company that will benefit from our strong regional and global distribution network.”
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | April 11, 2017
