Water Test Companies to Merge
According to an SEC filing, the aggregate purchase price ITT has agreed to pay for YSI is $310 million. YSI is a major supplier of electrochemistry instrumentation and adds new product lines to ITT Analytics’ portfolio of products for water testing. ITT plans to spin off its entire Water business later this year (see IBO 1/15/11), which in addition to Test (ITT Analytics) also includes Transportation, Treatment, Building Services, Industrial Water and Irrigation segments. The Test business had 2010 sales of $117 million to account for 6% of the total Water spin-off. In 2010, ITT paid $385 million, net of cash acquired, for Nova Analytics (see IBO 2/28/10).
White Plains, NY and Yellow Springs, OH 7/11/11—ITT has definitively agreed to acquire, via merger, YSI. YSI develops and manufactures sensors, instruments, software and data collection platforms for environmental water monitoring. YSI had 2010 revenues of $101 million and employs 390 people with locations in the US, Europe and Asia. YSI will join ITT Analytics, part of ITT’s Fluid and Motion Control business and a manufacturer of field, portable, laboratory and online analytical instruments for water and wastewater, environmental, medical, and food and beverage applications. “The opportunity to add a company with the brand recognition and reach of YSI not only strengthens our Analytics portfolio, but also gives us a great opportunity to globally expand our entire existing brand offering,” said ITT Analytics President Chris McIntire. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter and requires the approval of YSI shareholders.
