3M to acquire Capital Safety

Maplewood, Minn.-based 3M has agreed to acquire Capital Safety from investment firm KKR for a total value of $2.5 billion.

Capital Safety of Bloomington, Minn., provides fall-protection equipment. Personal protective equipment is a strategic priority for 3M, with demand for such equipment growing worldwide, driven by increasing regulatory focus on worker safety.

Capital Safety’s products include harnesses, lanyards, self-retracting lifelines and engineered systems sold under the brands DBI-SALA and PROTECTA. The company’s sales, adjusted to include recent acquisitions on a full-year basis, were approximately $430 million for its fiscal year ending March 31.

3M’s personal-safety business, part of its Safety and Graphics Business Group, provides respiratory and hearing protection. It also supplies reflective materials for high-visibility apparel, protective clothing and eyewear, and other equipment.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter; 3M will finance the transaction with existing cash, a portion of which will come from outside the U.S.