Kingspan Said to Make Rebuffed Proposal for Tie-Up With Carlisle
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2023-09-11 16:26
Kingspan Group Plc made an informal approach to combine with Carlisle Cos., which rebuffed the move to create

Kingspan Group Plc made an informal approach to combine with Carlisle Cos., which rebuffed the move to create a building materials giant with a combined market value of almost $27 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

The Irish insulation and construction products company proposed a deal in recent months, according to the people. Carlisle, which has a market capitlization of $12.5 billion, rejected the pitch but signaled it would be open to at least reviewing a more attractive offer, they said.

Shares in Kingspan were down 0.3% at 8:24 a.m. in Dublin on Monday, giving the company a market value of €13.4 billion ($14.3 billion).

Kingspan isn’t currently working on a formal takeover bid, some of the people said, asking not to be identified because deliberations are private. If Carlisle did explore a sale, it could trigger fresh interest from the Irish company as well as other building materials rivals, they said.

A representative for Kingspan declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Carlisle didn’t immediately provide comment.

Carlisle makes building envelope products and solutions, including construction materials and weather proofing assets. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based firm announced plans this month to sell its Carlisle Interconnect Technologies unit that provides products to the aerospace and medical technologies markets, which would make it a pure-play construction supplier.

News of Kingspan’s approach for Carlisle comes just days after another mega Irish-to-US deal was announced. Dublin-based Smurfit Kappa Group Plc and US firm WestRock said last week they are in talks to merge, potentially creating an industry giant with a market value of about $20 billion.

There has been a pick-up in deals in the building materials sector. Cementos Argos, the Colombian concrete maker, announced earlier this month it will merge its US operation with Summit Materials Inc. in a deal valued at $3.2 billion. And Swiss company Georg Fischer AG offered to buy Finnish plumbing-equipment manufacturer Uponor Oyj in June.

European companies are showing increased appetite to do deals in the US to benefit from more stable economy and President Biden-promoted investments in infrastructure, as well as deeper capital markets.

Kingspan in April announced plans to delist from the London Stock Exchange, marking another potential high-profile departure from the flagship UK market. Smurfit and WestRock also said this month they would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In July, Kingspan agreed to buy a majority stake in Steico SE from its founder to add natural insulation and wood-based building envelope products.

--With assistance from Kiel Porter.

(Updates with shares in third paragraph.)

Author: Aaron Kirchfeld, Dinesh Nair and Ruth David

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