Britain’s Avon Rubber on Wednesday said it has agreed to acquire Cleveland, Ohio-based Team Wendy, a developer and supplier of head protection systems for military, first responder and other markets for $130 million in cash, a deal that further builds out its products and capabilities in personal protection systems.
The pending transaction, which is expected to close before the end of 2020 subject to approval by Avon Rubber shareholders and U.S. regulators, follows Avon’s $91 million acquisition in January of the advanced ballistic protection business of 3M Company [MMM], which included the Ceradyne brand (Defense Daily, Jan. 2).
The deal with 3M provided Avon Rubber with advanced combat helmets, body armor, and flat armor, which is used to protect underneath seats and key systems of rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft.
Avon Rubber said that Team Wendy, which was founded in 1997 by Chairman and principal owner Dan Moore following the death of his daughter Wendy from traumatic brain injury as a result of a ski accident, has strong organic and profit growth.
Team Wendy, which had sales of $44.2 million and operating income of $13.4 million in 2019, makes ballistic and tactical helmets for military, law enforcement, and search and rescue markets, and helmets for adventure sports. The company has 130 employees.
Team Wendy has customers in more than 50 countries including the Australian Defense Forces, Federal Emergency Management Agency rescue task forces, and the Los Angeles Police Department SWAT forces. The company also has proprietary technology around helmet liner and retention systems.
“The acquisition of Team Wendy is another important strategic step in the transformation of Avon Rubber into a leading provider of life critical personal protection systems,” Paul McDonald, Avon Rubber’s CEO, said in a statement. He added that “Team Wendy is a high-quality business with complementary liner and retention system technologies and established positions in rest of world military and first responder helmet markets. Bringing Team Wendy into the same family with our existing Helmets & Armor business establishes Avon Protection as a global leader in military and first responder helmets, with an enhanced and broader product portfolio with stronger capabilities and routes to market.”
Team Wendy will operate as a subsidiary of Avon Rubber and its leadership and management team will remain with the company.
Pease and Associates is Team Wendy’s financial adviser on the deal and Evercore Partners and PwC are advising Avon Rubber.