Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (B&W; Charlotte, N.C.; www.babcock.com) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SPIG S.p.A. (SPIG; Arona, Italy; www.spig-int.com), a global provider of custom-engineered cooling systems and services, based on an enterprise value of €155 million, subject to certain adjustments.
SPIG will operate as a subsidiary of B&W under the trade name of Babcock & Wilcox SPIG. Its management team will continue to lead the company, which will maintain its headquarters in Arona. The transaction will be funded primarily by B&W’s existing foreign cash. The purchase is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2016.
“We’re excited to welcome SPIG’s employees and customers to Babcock & Wilcox,” says B&W chairman and COO E. James Ferland. “SPIG brings a more than 80 year heritage of excellence in engineering and project execution to the B&W family of businesses, and we believe B&W SPIG will be an integral part of B&W’s continued growth worldwide.”
“We expect a smooth transition and integration process with no business disruption,” Ferland says. “SPIG’s customers will continue to receive the same outstanding level of service to which they’re accustomed and will benefit from B&W’s scale and portfolio of products and services.”
With 2015 revenues of €168 million, SPIG employs approximately 250 people in Italy, the U.S., India, Turkey, China, Russia, Brazil, Germany and South Korea. The company provides comprehensive dry and wet cooling solutions and aftermarket services to the power generation industry including natural gas-fired and renewable energy power plants, as well as downstream oil-and-gas, petrochemical and other industrial end markets.
SPIG’s product offering includes air-cooled (dry cooling) systems, mechanical draft wet cooling towers and natural draft wet cooling hyperbolic towers. SPIG also provides end-to-end aftermarket services, including spare parts, upgrades/revamps for existing installations and remote monitoring.
The acquisition of SPIG is consistent with B&W’s goal to continue to grow and diversify its technology-based offerings with new products and services that are complementary to its core businesses in the power and industrial markets.
“The ability to offer high quality, custom-engineered cooling systems as part of our project scope enhances the value we can bring to our customers,” Ferland says. “SPIG’s products are applicable to a wide variety of facilities and will provide significant cross-selling opportunities for us in both our power and industrial business segments. Additionally, B&W’s strong North American footprint will help facilitate SPIG’s continued expansion into this geographic market.”