Columbus McKinnon Receives Antitrust Clearance for Kito Crosby Acquisition

Columbus McKinnon (CMCO) announced a definitive agreement under which Columbus McKinnon will acquire Kito Crosby from funds managed by leading global investment firm KKR (KKR) in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.7B subject to customary post-closing purchase price adjustments. The company expects the deal to close later this calendar year, subject to regulatory approvals and satisfactory completion of customary closing conditions. Kito Crosby is a "global leader" in lifting solutions with multiple manufacturing assembly plants and nearly 4,000 employees serving over 50 countries. The combined company will have a highly attractive financial profile, with meaningfully enhanced scale, increased margins and exceptional cash flow characteristics that are consistent with best-in-class industrial product manufacturers. On a pro-forma basis, the company is expected to have annual revenue of $2.1B, Adjusted EBITDA of $486M and an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 23%, accelerating the achievement of the company's fiscal year 2027 financial targets established at its 2022 Investor Day. The transaction is expected to be accretive to the company's Adjusted Earnings Per Share1 in the first year after closing and grow over time as synergies are achieved. The company expects to achieve $70M in annual net cost synergies by year three. The combined significant cashflow generation will enable the company to de-lever in the near-term and expects to reduce its Net Leverage Ratio from approximately 4.8x pro forma Adjusted EBITDA post transaction closing to approximately 3.0x within two years post-closing. The company's enhanced scale, margin profile and free cash flow provides a strong foundation to continue to return cash to shareholders through its dividend, reinvest in long-term organic growth and, over time, pursue additional acquisitions as it continues to execute on its strategy of building the premier intelligent motion solutions provider.