Valspar to Buy Quest Coatings Businesses

US-based global coatings manufacturer Valspar Corporation has agreed to acquire the performance coatings activities of compatriot Quest Specialty Chemicals.

The deal between Minneapolis, Minnesota-headquartered Valspar and Charleston, South Carolina-based Quest, scheduled to close in the third quarter of this year, will roughly double the size of the former’s $150-million a year automotive refinish business.

The acquired Quest business, which will be integrated into Valspar’s paints segment, had sales of $190 million in 2014, split roughly 75:25 between automotive refinish and about industrial aerosol paints.

Quest’s automotive refinish business manufactures paints, coatings systems, and accessories to professional refinishers under the brand names Matrix, Prospray, and USC, mostly in North America and Europe. Its industrial products business makes aerosol spray products and specialty coatings for industrial applications.

Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, but Valspar CEO Gary Hendrickson told an analyst conference the purchase price was under $400 million and the purchase multiple seven times EBITDA adjusted for cost savings.

The business is expected to add about $35 million in EBITDA in Valspar’s next fiscal year, which begins on 31 October 2015. (dw)