NEW YORK—Arsenal Capital Partners is creating another platform business, striking a deal to buy Seal for Life Industries L.L.C. from Berry Global Group Inc. for $328 million.
The company operates in a sector focused on maintaining infrastructure, such as water and oil pipelines and power generation.
Based in Stadskanaal, Netherlands, SFL makes plastic mesh to protect pipes from rocks during backfilling, along with viscoelastic products, fused tapes and coatings that prevent corrosion, water ingress and insulation problems. Annual sales are about $120 million from operations in five countries with 380 employees.
SFL adds coating solutions to New York-based Arsenal's portfolio of products used to prolong the life and durability of infrastructure and industrial assets, Sal Gagliardo, an operating partner of Arsenal, said in a news release.
"Seal for Life has an excellent market reputation for providing its customers with the highest level of performance and quality to meet stringent regulatory requirements," Gagliardo said. "The company continues to innovate protective and anti-corrosion solutions that are solving the market needs in the oil and water pipeline industry and in emerging applications for other core infrastructure markets."
Arsenal will build on the company's market brands—Anodeflex, Stopaq, Polyken, Covalence and Powercrete—and help it grow, according to Roy Seroussi, an Arsenal investment partner.
In addition to the Netherlands, Seal For Life has operations in the Franklin, Ky.; Tijuana, Mexico; Westerlo, Belgium; and Baroda, India.
"We look forward to supporting the Seal for Life team and building the business organically and with strategic acquisitions that will further expand its position in the broader coatings protection industry," Seroussi said in the release.
Arsenal invests in middle-market industrial and health care companies typically in the range of $100 million to $500 million of initial enterprise value.
The purchase marks the second move by Arsenal in July to create a new platform business. Earlier this month, it disclosed the purchase of a controlling stake in Revolution Plastics, a Little Rock, Ark.-based recycler, with an eye on growth in the market.
And on July 22, Arsenal announced it was buying the health care packaging business of Swiss materials and specialty chemicals company Clariant A.G. for $314 million. The packaging business produces customizable, drop-in canisters and packets, integrated desiccant systems and specially designed plastic bottles for protecting pharmaceutical products from moisture and oxygen.
Dirk Totte, SFL general manager, described the latest acquisition as a partnership with a firm that has deep expertise in the coatings and sealants sector.
"Our strong platform combined with strategic investments and acquisitions will accelerate growth in current and new end markets, such as renewable energy, infrastructure and commercial buildings," Totte said in the release.
Tom Salmon, CEO of Evansville, Ind.-based Berry, said the company decided to sell SFL after owning it for 12 years following a portfolio analysis.
"We will use the proceeds of the sale to repay debt and expedite our primary goal of improving our balance sheet," Salmon said in a release.
Berry supplies rigid, flexible and nonwoven products to consumer and industrial markets. The company generated about $13 billion in fiscal year 2018 from operations at 290 sites on six continents with more than 48,000 employees.