Myers Industries completes acquisition to strengthen materials handling segment

Myers Industries has announced that on July 2, 2014 it completed the acquisition of Scepter Corporation and Scepter Manufacturing.

Scepter is a leading producer of portable marine fuel containers, portable fuel and water containers and accessories, ammunition containers, storage totes and environmental bins. Scepter employs 350 employees and has manufacturing plants in Toronto, Canada and Miami, Okla. The final purchase price was $157 million. Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Scepter, with 2013 sales of approximately $100 million and trailing twelve months EBITDA of $23.5 million, is expected to be immediately accretive to adjusted earnings per share and to generate a return on investment above the company’s cost of capital. The company anticipates realizing synergies of more than $2 million on an annual basis driven by material cost savings and plant efficiencies.

The acquisition of Scepter supports the long-term strategic growth and profitability improvement plan of the company. Scepter’s in-house product engineering and state of the art mold capabilities complements Myers Industries’ material handling segment in North America through an increased product offering and greater global reach.

“Scepter is an excellent strategic fit with Myers Industries. As our third bolt-on acquisition to the material handling segment in the last two years, Scepter meets our ongoing objective to grow the profitability of this segment with a business that has a long history of product innovation and profitable market leadership,” said John C. Orr, president and CEO. “We are very pleased to welcome Scepter employees to Myers Industries and look forward to working together to efficiently integrate Scepter into our portfolio of companies, capitalize on synergies, and continue to grow profitably while adding value for all stakeholders.”

As previously announced on June 24, 2014, Myers’ has reduced its reporting segments from four to two focusing on material handling and distribution, its two core businesses.