AZZ Buys Aquilex for $250 Million

On Monday, electrical equipment manufacturer AZZ announced that it has agreed to purchase energy services company Aquilex Specialty Repair and Overhaul for $250 million.

Aquilex, a holding of private equity firm Centerbridge Partners, specializes in the maintenance and repair of both nuclear and fossil fuel power plants and refineries and does maintenance and "life-extension" work on other industrial plants. AZZ is adding it to expand its capability in electrical and industrial products.

From a financial perspective, AZZ notes that it expects Aquilex to produce about $225 million to $250 million in annual revenue. As such, the roughly one times annual sales price it is paying for the company offers a significant discount to the 1.9 times sales valuation AZZ's own shares command. Accordingly, investors are applauding the purchase, bidding AZZ shares up 4.1% in Monday trading, to close at $43.43.

AZZ added in a press release that it expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings in the amount of $0.25 to $0.30 per share in the first year after closing (expected to occur sometime in the next 30 days). Aquilex is expected to contribute as much as $0.50 to $0.60 to per-share profits in the second year of ownership.

The article AZZ Buys Aquilex for $250 Million originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of AZZ. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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