H.B. Fuller Co. (St. Paul, Minn.; www.hbfuller.com) has purchased the industrial adhesives business of Wisdom Worldwide Adhesives, a provider of adhesives for the packaging, paper converting and assembly markets.
“We are pleased to welcome the employees and customers of this 140 year old company to H.B. Fuller. Wisdom’s highly successful go-to-market strategy, based on a focused product line, ultra-fast delivery and virtual service, will complement H.B. Fuller’s full value solutions. The acquisition will strengthen our leading position in this market segment within the Americas adhesive business,” said Jim Owens, president and CEO, H.B. Fuller. “The combination of H.B. Fuller and Wisdom provides significant cost synergy opportunities combined with some growth opportunities related to the complementary operating model and customer bases of the two companies. This acquisition will enhance and strengthen the delivery of our 2020 strategic plan commitments.”
Founded in 1875, Wisdom has been privately owned and operated by five consecutive generations of the Wisdom family and is headquartered in Elgin, Illinois. The company generated revenue and EBITDA of approximately $100 million and $11 million, respectively, in fiscal 2016. The business was purchased for $122 million and is expected to generate annual run rate synergies of approximately $6 million starting in 2018, which would make the purchase price multiple equal to approximately seven times Wisdom’s fiscal 2016 EBITDA on a post-synergy basis. H.B. Fuller expects the transaction to be modestly accretive to earnings in the first year. The business will be included in H.B. Fuller’s Americas Adhesives operating segment.