Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Åkers AB and certain affiliated companies (excluding Åkers AB’s operations in France and Belgium), approximately doubling the size of Ampco’s Union Electric Steel Corporation subsidiary, a producer of forged and cast mill rolls for steel and aluminum rolling.
“The acquisition of Åkers is a significant step in Ampco-Pittsburgh’s ongoing diversification and growth,” according to John Stanik, Ampco-Pittsburgh’s CEO. “This strategic move complements and strengthens what customers have come to expect from Union Electric Steel — high-performance products, technical service, responsiveness, and reliability.”
Stanik said Åkers’ manufacturing plants would expand Ampco-Pittsburgh’s global portfolio of forging operations, and position Union Electric Steel to supply customers all over the world.
Union Electric Steel, Carnegie, PA, is one the world’s largest integrated producers of forged hardened steel, cast iron, and cast steel mill rolls, with total capacity exceeding 60,000 tons/year. It also produces ingot and open-die forged products for oil-and-gas exploration and aluminum and plastic extrusion industries.
Earlier this year, UES purchased Alloys Unlimited and Processing LLC, a supplier of specialty tool, alloy, and carbon steel round bar in Austintown, OH, as well as numerous specialty machining and finishing processes. UES also produces cast rolls for hot and cold rolling mills in Gateshead, England.
Excluding the Belgian and French plants, the Åkers purchase includes Åkers National Roll Co., in Avonmore, PA, near Pittsburgh, which produces rolls for strip and plate rolling; and operations in Sweden, Bosnia, and China (spun-cast ICDP rolls). Åkers’ Vertical Seal Co. holding in Pleasantville, PA, produces bearings, bearing sleeves, bushings, and rolling mill components.
In addition to open-die forging, its various operations include melting, alloying, and refining; static or centrifugal casting; ingot casting; heat treating; machining and finishing.
The reported price of the transaction is $80 million (subject to adjustments at closing.)
The seller is Altor Fund II GP Limited, a private-equity group, which will receive $30 million in cash, $30 million in a three-year note, and $20 million in Ampco common stock.
Fredrik Strömholm, a fund partner and an Åkers director, stated, “We believe that Åkers has a bright future with Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation, and we look forward to being a part of this next step in the long history of Åkers.”
