Pentair To Buy Aquion For Diverse Water Treatment Solutions

Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Aquion for worth $160 million in cash, subject to customary adjustments. The buyout will help Pentairexpand its scope and customer offerings in the residential and commercial water treatment arena.

Headquartered in Elk Grove Village, IL, Aquion offers a diverse line of water conditioners, water filters, drinking-water purifiers, ozone and ultraviolet disinfection systems, reverse osmosis systems and acid neutralizers.

The Aquion acquisition is in sync with Pentair’s key growth initiatives of accelerating residential and commercial water treatment. The to-be-acquired company’s strong portfolio of residential and commercial water systems combined with Pentair’s technical expertise in water treatment technologies will assist consumers by increasing their access as well as providing more choices to meet water treatment needs.

The transaction, presently pending customary closing conditions and necessary regulatory approvals, is anticipated to be completed in first-quarter 2019. In a separate press release, Pentair also announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to purchase Pelican Water Systems.

The company continues to focus on geographical expansion and incremental investments in order to improve its growth rate. Boasting a strong free cash balance and low leverage, the company is well positioned to make investments along with strategically exploring tuck-in or bolt-on acquisition targets.

Share Price Performance

Shares of Pentair’s have slipped 2% in the past three months against the industry’s decline of 6%.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Pentair currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the same space are Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ:ITRN) , Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE:BMS) and Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCCI) . While Ituran Location sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Bemis and Heritage-Crystal carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Ituran Location has a long-term earnings growth rate of 16%. Its shares have gained 3% over the past three months.

Bemis has a long-term earnings growth rate of 7.3%. The stock has risen 3% over the past three months.

Heritage-Crystal has a long-term earnings growth rate of 15%. The company’s shares have rallied 23% over the past three months.

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