3M to spend $1.2 billion on safety products manufacturer

Industrial Distribution staff -- Industrial Distribution, 11/15/2007 9:00:00 AM

Indianapolis-based Aearo, which is owned by private equity firm Permira, manufactures personal protection and energy absorbing products.

3M said the deal, expected to close during the first quarter of 2008, significantly expands its occupational health and environmental safety platform. The St. Paul, Minn.-based diversified corporation will now offer hearing protection, eyewear and fall protection products as part of its safety offering to the industrial, military and construction markets.

“Aearo complements and significantly broadens our core safety and personal protection business, a space which is growing fast and of strategic importance to the company,” chairman, president and CEO George Buckley said. “The combination of 3M’s technology, our global reach and well-known safety brand with Aearo’s strong product portfolio and brands positions 3M as the global leader in personal protective equipment products. Our powerful international distribution network will enable us to enhance and leverage this asset going forward.”

Aearo’s brands include the as E-A-R, Peltor, AOSafety and SafeWaze product lines. The company’s annual sales increased by more than 12 percent over the past five years to $508 million.