Arsenal Capital Partners has sold its portfolio company Seal For Life Industries to publicly traded Henkel AG & Co.
Seal For Life is a supplier of protective coating and sealing products that are used in a variety of applications including onshore and offshore pipelines, jetty piles, storage tanks, valves, flanges, and industrial flooring.
The company’s products, sold under the STOPAQ, CANUSA, COVALENCE, POLYKEN, POWERCRETE, ANODEFLEX, and LIFELAST brands, include plastic meshes to protect pipes and pipelines from rocks when backfilled; cathodic protection products; visco-elastic coatings to protect assets from corrosion and water ingress; cold-applied and fused tape products; single wrap pipeline coating systems; and liquid coating products.
Arsenal acquired Seal For Life in July 2019 from publicly traded Berry Global Group for $328 million. At that time, Arsenal announced that the company would serve as a platform investment in the coatings sector focused on the infrastructure and industrial markets. Over the past nearly five years, Arsenal completed seven add-on acquisitions that transformed the company into a global platform in the coatings sector.
Today, Seal For Life, led by CEO Jeff Oravitz, has more than 650 employees and approximately $270 million in annual revenues. The company is headquartered in Houston with additional facilities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
“Arsenal has enabled the transformation of Seal For Life into a unique platform of coatings solutions,” said Mr. Oravitz. “The firm brought significant expertise in technologies and applications that drove a focus on where the markets are going and how we can address the long-term trends. We are grateful to the Arsenal team for their partnership and support over the last five years and are excited for the growth opportunities as we join the Henkel organization.”
“We are delighted with the growth achieved during our ownership, with Seal For Life’s sales more than doubling and strengthening of the company’s global market position,” said Sal Gagliardo, an operating partner of Arsenal. “Seal For Life’s team, led by Jeff Oravitz, achieved strong organic growth, completed and integrated complementary acquisitions, and created a best-in-class technology platform in the infrastructure coatings sector. We want to thank Jeff and the Seal For Life team for their efforts and leadership that drove to this successful outcome.”
“Arsenal’s close collaboration with Jeff and the team and the success of the Seal For Life platform further strengthens Arsenal’s position as a leading investor and company builder in the coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers sector,” said Roy Seroussi, an investment partner of Arsenal. “We wish the Seal For Life team and Henkel the very best in their future success.”
According to Henkel, as infrastructure ages and sustainability gains importance, the necessity for repair solutions that enhance asset longevity is becoming more apparent. Consequently, maintenance and repair solutions for industrial, civil, and municipal applications are gaining heightened importance.
“Maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) is a strategic growth market for us, offering great opportunities for innovative solutions that help protecting, retrofitting and digitally-enabled condition monitoring of infrastructure and at the same time contributing to sustainability. This transaction marks another building block in creating and developing a growth platform in our MRO business. It will enable us to further expand our offering in sustainability-driven, future-oriented markets such as renewable energy and water supply,” said Mark Dorn, the executive vice president of Henkel’s adhesive technologies business unit.
In November 2023, Henkel acquired Wind Point portfolio company Critica Infrastructure, a Houston-based maker of products used to repair and refurbish industrial pipework as well as water and wastewater pipelines.
Henkel AG is a Düsseldorf, Germany-headquartered multinational company with operations in the adhesives, beauty care, laundry, and home care sectors. The company’s portfolio of consumer and industrial brands includes Schwarzkopf hair care, Dial soaps, Right Guard antiperspirants, Persil, Purex and All laundry detergents, Snuggle fabric softeners, and Loctite, Technomelt and Bonderite adhesives.
New York-headquartered Arsenal invests in middle-market specialty industrial and healthcare companies that have $100 million to $500 million of enterprise value. Arsenal is an active investor in the coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers sector, with current investments in Applied Adhesives, ATP Tapes, Fenzi Group, Meridian Adhesives Group, Polycorp, and Polytek.
Since its founding in 2000, Arsenal has raised total capital of $10 billion, closed more than 290 platforms and add-on acquisitions and exited more than 35 portfolio companies.
J.P. Morgan Securities was the financial advisor to Seal For Life.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | April 10, 2024
