Water technology company
A.O. Smith Corp. has acquired Pennsylvania-based
Master Water Conditioning Corp. in an all-cash deal, the Milwaukee-based company announced today.
Master Water is a water treatment company that offers residential, commercial and light industrial products and systems to address a wide variety of water issues. The company manufacturers water softeners, filters and ultrafiltration systems sold under the brand names Alliance, Clarifier, MasterFusion, Satin Series and PuroPro, among others.
Terms of the all-cash transaction were not disclosed.
“The acquisition of Master Water further demonstrates our commitment to the North American water treatment market, a key element of our strategy to deliver innovative, differentiated solutions that heat and treat water,” A.O. Smith president and CEO Kevin Wheeler said in a statement.
The measure follows a series of acquisitions for A.O. Smith’s North American water treatment business, which include Water-Right Group, Hague Quality Water and Aquasana.
A.O. Smith reported net sales of $769 million for the first quarter 2021, a 21% increase from sales of $637 million in the first quarter of 2020. The company’s North America segment reported $552.9 million in sales for the quarter, up approximately 4% compared to the first quarter in 2020.
The company recently announced a fourth price increase this year on service parts as well as select residential and commercial water heater products due to rising costs in transportation, materials and steel.
The cumulative impact of the first three increases is expected to be between 24% to 27%, according to an April report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All four increases could
push prices up by at least 36% depending on the type of water heater.
