Anvil International (“Anvil”), a global designer, manufacturer and provider of high-quality products that connect and support piping systems, and Smith-Cooper International (“SCI”), a global designer and provider of branded, high-quality pipes, valves, and fittings, announced on April 26, they have entered into a definitive agreement to merge. The combined company will be majority owned by Tailwind Capital. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The combined company will be a designer, manufacturer and provider of products that connect and support piping systems, with a portfolio of high-quality, global brands including AFCON, Anvil, Anvil EPS, Anvil-Strut, Basic-PSA, Beck, Catawissa, Cooplok, Cooplet, FlexHead, FPPI, Gruvlok, J.B. Smith, North Alabama Pipe, Megawatt, SCI, Sharpe, SPF/Anvil and SprinkFLEX. Together Anvil and Smith-Cooper will offer a comprehensive product portfolio to national, regional and local distributors across North America serving the industrial, commercial, fire protection, energy and mining end markets.

Upon closing, Jason Hild, chief executive officer of SCI, will serve as CEO of the combined company, and Tom Fish, president and CEO of Anvil, will serve as chairman. All additional members of Anvil’s and Smith-Cooper’s senior management teams will remain with the combined company. No changes to either company’s facilities footprint are anticipated at this time as a result of the combination.

“Bringing together Anvil and Smith-Cooper is a unique opportunity to significantly expand the strong and complementary capabilities of both organizations,” Hild said. “Anvil’s commitment to domestic manufacturing and deep relationships with their distributor partners make them an excellent complement to Smith-Cooper, with our expertise in global sourcing and our ability to strongly service our customers. We are excited to work collaboratively with the talented Anvil team to create a bright future for our combined business.”

“We are excited to be joining forces with Smith-Cooper and have great respect for their team, sourcing capabilities and high-quality products,” Fish said. “Together, we will be positioned to offer a wider breadth of products and best-in-class service that our combined customer base wants, needs and deserves. We have many terrific opportunities ahead and I look forward to partnering with Jason and our teams to drive the long-term growth of our business.”

“This transaction combines two phenomenal businesses and management teams to create a world-class platform that can comprehensively serve the pipe, valves and fittings market,” said Jeff Calhoun, partner at Tailwind. “We look forward to supporting Jason, Tom and the entire leadership team as they continue to pursue strategic growth opportunities.”

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2019, and is subject to customary closing conditions.

JP Morgan and BlackArch Partners served as financial advisor and Dechert served as legal advisor to Anvil. Barclays served as financial advisor and Davis Polk & Wardwell served as legal advisor to Smith-Cooper.