Malmo, Sweden—Hexpol A.B. has acquired 80 percent of the shares in Gorlago, Italy-based elastomers compounder Mesgo Group for $193 million.
The move, Hexpol said in a news release, strategically positions it within the high-performance elastomers market.
"With this acquisition Hexpol thereby adds a new important platform of high value-added solutions," Hexpol CEO Mikael Fryklund said in a statement.
Mesgo specializes in conventional rubber compounds, providing high-performance elastomers such as fluorocarbons and silicones, Hexpol said in a news release. The Italian company has annual sales of around $115 million and operates a total of six facilities in Italy, Poland and Turkey.
It supplies to industrial, consumer goods, transportation and automotive sectors in Italy and globally.
The Swedish rubber group also expects Mesgo's technology and local manufacturing footprint to add "new significant competences and geographical markets" to the group.
"With its sizable installed base of customers, Hexpol is uniquely positioned across the growing compounding industry and will allow us to reach new markets and qualified customers," said Mesgo's CEO Francesco Caldara, whose family remains a minority shareholder in the company.
Hexpol said it has an option to acquire remaining shares from the Caldara family in the future.