Kordsa acquires Axiom Materials for $181 million

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Kordsa has acquired Axiom Materials Inc. in a $181 million deal.

The deal paves the way for Kordsa to develop its competencies in strategic and high-growth areas, and adds to the company's product portfolio, according to a company news release.

Kordsa, a Sabanci Holding subsidiary, said it completed the first phase of its goal to expand into composite technologies with the acquisition. It entered the industry with its Composite Technologies Center of Excellence, jointly established with Sabanci University. Its 2018 acquisitions of Fabric Development Inc., Textile Products Inc. and Advanced Honeycomb Technologies expanded its operations in composite materials for the aerospace industry.

Axiom, based in Santa Ana, produces value-added materials widely used in aircraft engines, with additional applications in other industries, Kordsa said.

Kordsa invested about $300 million in composite technologies in the last two years, according to Sabanci Holding CEO Mehmet Gocmen. With the acquisitions of the four U.S.-based companies, Kordsa built a business line with an annual gross revenue of more than $150 million.

Axiom brings to Kordsa its oxide-oxide ceramic matrix composites technology, Gocmen said. The acquisition also will support the development of Turkey in international markets.

The investment allows Kordsa to create a growth platform in North America, a hub for aerospace, Cenk Alper, Sabanci Holding Industrials Group president and chairman of Kordsa, said in a statement.

Kordsa is a provider of tire, construction reinforcement and composite technologies with 852 patent applications globally.