11.02.2025

Rigging gear merger

Material handling equipment manufacturer Columbus McKinnon is to acquire lifting and handling equipment group Kito Crosby from private equity firm KKR in an all-cash deal which values the company at $2.7 billion.

Kito Crosby employs around 4,000 across numerous production facilities covering more than 50 countries, the company was formed in September 2022 when US based Crosby acquired Kito the Japanese load handling equipment manufacturer, merging the two companies into Kito Crosby in October 2023. Last August Kito Crosby acquired Eepos an aluminium overhead crane and production line equipment manufacturer.

KKR has owned Crosby since 2013, since then revenues have doubled to $1.1 billion last year, while the number of employees has quadrupled, due to both organic growth and a good number of acquisitions. Columbus McKinnon has revenues in the region of $1 billion with around 3,500 employees. Creating a combined business with revenues in excess of $2.1 billion.

The deal, is being partly funded by an investment in Columbus McKinnon by New York based private equity firm CD&R. It will put up around $800,000 of the funds with the rest coming from new debt, with CD&R expected to take a 40 percent stake in the business. It will also take three seats on the board of the merged company in the form of Mike Lamach, Nate Sleeper and Andrew Campelli. The transaction is expected to close later this year, following the clearance of any regulatory hurdles. CD&R says its policy is to deleverage the balance sheet as soon as possible after a deal is done. It also expects to make around $70 million of efficiency savings by combine the two operations. The firm also owns controlling stake in Brand Industrial Services – having acquired it from Harsco in 2013.

Columbus McKinnon chief executive David Wilson said: “This is an important next step in further strengthening Columbus McKinnon’s position as a scaled, holistic provider of intelligent motion solutions in materials handling. We have long had a great respect for Kito Crosby’s strong portfolio of offerings. The business that the Kito Crosby management team, led by Robert Desel and Yoshio Kito have built is exceptional, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Columbus McKinnon team. Through this strategic combination, we are creating a company that is extremely well positioned to deliver real world solutions for customers. This combination also unites two highly talented teams with deep technical expertise, customer centric cultures and a shared vision for operational excellence focused on safety, productivity and uptime on behalf of our customers.”

Kito Crosby chief executive Robert Desel added: “We have long respected Columbus McKinnon. Our shared values of safety, quality, and a focus on our employees and customers will create value for all stakeholders. This deal brings together highly complementary, industry leading brands, products and competencies with strong recurring sales dynamics. With the benefit of additional scale, and shared best practices and technology, we will be better positioned to meet our customers’ needs than ever before, simultaneously creating new opportunities for growth and development for our team members. We could not be more pleased to see these two great teams coming together.”

KKR partner Brandon Brahm said: “Today’s announcement is a testament to the value we and the Kito Crosby team have created by transforming the business through organic initiatives, expanding global reach and pursuing strategic and accretive acquisitions. Kito Crosby is now better able to serve its customers with safety critical equipment than ever before, and the combination with Columbus McKinnon will further position the combined business to best serve all stakeholders. It has been an honour to closely partner with Robert, Yoshio and the whole Kito Crosby team and we believe the company is well positioned for this new chapter.”