Wire management and electrical installation company Legrand announced today it has signed an agreement to acquire Milestone AV, a US-based digital infrastructure company, for an enterprise value of $950 million.
The French manufacturer says the purchase is a “synergistic move” which will nearly double the company’s existing base of over 3,500 dealer relationships tied to its Middle Atlantic Products brand. Likewise, Milestone officials noted in a press release that Legrand’s relationships with electrical, IT and data communication distributors could allow Milestone to move into these distribution channels in the mid-term.
Legrand notes that Milestone has built strong ties with distribution channels offering “wide geographical coverage” and access to corporate, hospitality, houses of worship, education, government, and retail markets.
Additionally, the press release states that over 75% of Milestone sales are generated by products that rank number one or two in their markets.
Chairman and CEO of Legrand Gilles Schnepp says the acquisition allows the company to pursue its ongoing reinforcement in digital infrastructure, more specifically in the high-value AV infrastructure and power segment in the United States.
“Milestone will bring Legrand leading positions in commercial and residential AV mounts, as well as in projector screens enabling the Group to provide AV customers with scalable, end to-end offerings,” Schnepp says.
More from the Legrand press release:
Combined with Legrand’s #1 positions in AV enclosures in the US under the Middle Atlantic Products brand, Milestone will enable the Group to provide US customers with scalable, end-to-end offerings on a market driven by both social megatrends (communication, security, distance and collaborative working etc.) and technological megatrends (digitalization, new display technologies, streaming technologies etc.).
Based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Milestone recorded 2016 revenues of $464 million, 90% in North America. Over the same period, adjusted operating profit and free cash flow stood at respectively 21% and 12.5% of sales. The company employs around 1,000 and has locations in the United States, Canada, China, Hong-Kong, Australia and the Netherlands. Its subsidiaries include Vaddio and Chief.
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