Kingspan acquires Belgian insulation maker for €315m

Irish insulation manufacturer Kingspan confirmed on Tuesday that it will aquire the Belgian manufacturer and supplier of insulated panels Joris Ide for €315 million. The deal represents a "quantum leap forward" for the Irish copany as it significantly extends the reach of the group.

Kingspan will acquire the pan European company, subject to regulatory approval, from private equity investor Ergon Capital, which has a 60 per cent stake, as well as the company's founder and other private shareholders.

Gene Murtagh, Kingspan chief executive officer, said that the acquisition represents "a quantum leap forward in the execution of our strategy to fully globalise Kingspan".

“It takes us into a distinctly different tier in the market than typically occupied by the Kingspan branded products, and with its operations in Belgium, France, Germany, Romania and Russia significantly extends the reach of our group.”

In a note, Davy Stockbrokers said that the deal was “attractive” and should be well received.

Kingspan will finance the deal through a combination of cash and debt, as it has negotiated additional bilateral facilities of €190m. It will also issue 3m shares to the holding company of the founder and major shareholder of Joris Ide.

The company also disclosed on Tuesday that it has negotiated €127.5m in private placement loan notes with weighted average maturities of eight years. The proceeds will be primarily used to repay private placement loan notes which are due to mature in March 2015.

The existing management team of Joris Ide will be retained in the business, and will continue to manage and develop the business distinct from the Kingspan brand.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015.

Kingspan has spent about €100 million on acquisitions in the past year. In November it bought the building products division of Vicwest, a Canadian group, for C$154 million and completed its aquisition of the building insulation arm of US group Pactiv for $82m.