An Atlanta company is buying one of the largest makers of pipes and precast concrete products in the U.S.
Quikrete Holdings Inc. will acquire Irving-based Forterra Inc. (Nasdaq: FRTA) in a deal valued at approximately $2.74 billion, including outstanding debt, Forterra said Monday.
Quikrete says it is the largest manufacturer of packaged concrete and cement mixes in the U.S. and Canada. The privately owned family business was founded in 1940 and operates about 250 facilities in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and South America.
Forterra operates 59 facilities that make concrete drainage pipe and precast products. It also operates 18 plants that make iron pipe. The company generated 2019 revenues of $1.5 billion and has about 4,600 employees.
“Forterra and Quikrete are an ideal strategic fit, and this combination is a natural next step for our company, enabling us to better serve our customers across the company on their concrete projects from start to finish. We are excited to grow our capabilities in the potable water distribution market through Forterra’s well-respected U.S. Pipe business,” said Will Magill, CEO of Quikrete Holdings Inc., in a statement.
Although Forterra is publicly owned, it is controlled by an affiliate of private equity firm Lone Star Funds which in 2015 acquired the building products business of HeidelbergCement AG. Lone Star has maintained a majority ownership and took the business renamed Forterra public in 2016. Lone Star owns approximately 53 percent of the company’s outstanding shares of common stock.
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