Crane Co. President and CEO Max Mitchell said in early November that a sale of the company’s Engineered Materials business, including Crane Composites, would happen. He just did not know when.
As it turns out, the deal did not take long.
On Monday night, Crane Co. said it reached a definitive agreement to sell Crane Composites, an RV industry fiber-reinforced composite material supplier . The company will sell Crane Composites and the rest of the Engineered Materials business to KPS Capital Partners, LP, for $227 million.
Crane Co. and KPS anticipate closing the transaction in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals.
According to Crane Co., the regulatory approval process is crucial to the sale after previously disrupting Crane’s sale of the Engineered Materials business. The segment was sold in 2021 to a Brazilian company, Grupo Verzatec S.A. de C.V., for $360 million before the U.S. Justice Department blocked the sale.
Mitchell expressed praise the company’s Engineered Materials business.
“Engineered Materials is a great business,” he said, “with leadership positions in the markets in which it operates, with dedicated Crane associates that I am very proud of, and we look forward to watching its continued growth under the ownership of KPS. I wish to thank our Engineered Materials team for their support and understanding regarding this decision.”
The company’s website lists about 500 employees , with headquarters in Channahon, Illinois, and operations in Jonesboro, Arkansas; Goshen, Indiana; and Florence, Kentucky.
John O’Sullivan is the Engineered Materials president, leading the segment since 2017. Mike Cheney, vice president of recreational vehicles, has led Crane Composites’ RV unit since 2018.
