Precision Castparts Corp. will pay $600 million in cash for Permaswage SAS, continuing a purchasing spree that has been underway for over three years. Most of its investments have been aimed at expanding PCC’s reach in the aerospace market, and Permaswage adds to that effort: the California company designs and manufactures aerospace fluid fitting parts, tooling, and training for aircraft manufacturers.
The seller is Bridgepoint Capital, a private investment group that purchased Permaswage in 2007.
"The acquisition of Permaswage continues our disciplined drive to enhance our value proposition to our airframe customers," Precision Castparts chairman and CEO Mark Donegan stated. "The company extends our reach into permanent fittings, building on the foothold in separable fittings we established with the acquisition of Airdrome.”
“Airdrome” is Airdrome Holdings LLC, a producer of hydraulic and pneumatic fluid fittings for airframe applications that PCC bought in 2008.
Permaswage designs and manufactures permanent fittings used in fluid conveyance systems for airframe applications, as well as related installation tooling. Its particular expertise is in swaged fittings, used to create permanent connections between two tubes. It also develops systems for threaded fittings.
A swage is a tool (or die) used in swaging, a forging (hot or cold) process in which the dimensions of a tube or bar are altered using dies, into which the item is forced, in order to create a desired shape and dimension.
Permaswage has integrated manufacturing operations in Gardena, CA, Paris, France, and Suzhou, China) that are dedicated to safety, quality, on-time delivery, and technical support worldwide. Its components are present on all major commercial aircraft platforms worldwide.
“Permaswage has secured strong permanent fittings positions on key current and next-generation commercial aircraft platforms,” Donegan continued, “and the long-term opportunities for profitable growth that we can derive from this acquisition are substantial."
Precision Castparts produces complex metal components for aerospace and energy markets, with three divisions focused on forgings, investment castings, and fasteners and airframes. Its major acquisition of recent years has been Titanium Metals Corp., an integrated producer of titanium and titanium products, which it purchased for $2.9 billion earlier this year.
Other PCC acquisitions have involved operations that produce machined components, aerostructures, investment castings, and forgings, as well as machining, testing, and heat treating services.
