Moen Inc., North Olmsted, OH, has entered a partnering agreement with Culligan Water Technologies Inc., Northbrook, IL, to develop Moen products using Culligan water filtration assemblies. New products will be manufactured by Moen and will incorporate proprietary Culligan filter technology. The products will be Moen-branded and will display the “Water by Culligan” logo.
“Moen is committed to providing our customers with the highest quality products,” said Bruce A. Carbonari, Moen president and CEO. “Our partnership with Culligan will add a new dimension to our products that is not available in any other faucet manufactured today.” Moen is part of the MasterBrand Industries, Inc., group of hardware and home improvement companies.
Also at Culligan, the company announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the water filtration business of Ametek, Inc., for $155 million, which includes assumed debt. Ametek’s water filtration business manufactures and markets point-of-use water filtration and treatment products under the Ametek, Plymouth, American Plumber and other brand names. The 1996 unaudited revenues of the business were approximately $68 million, a 22 percent increase over 1995. Ametek stockholders will receive shares of Culligan common stock in exchange for Ametek stock, and Culligan will own Ametek’s water filtration business. The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of various conditions, including obtaining necessary regulatory and other approvals consisting principally of expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, and obtaining a favorable ruling from the IRS, and approval of stockholders and noteholders of Ametek. It is expected that it will take four to six months to obtain all of the necessary approvals.
