Badger Meter acquires Florida distributor

Brown Deer-based Badger Meter Inc. has acquired Tampa, Florida-based Innovative Metering Solutions Inc., the distributor of Badger Meter products to municipal water utility customers in Florida, the company announced Monday.

The deal marks the fourth acquisition of a distributor by Badger Meter since 2014. The acquisition was effective Monday.

“At Badger Meter, we are always working to deliver the best overall customer experience, and we believe key to that is local sales, technical and operational support services,” said Rich Meeusen, Badger Meter chairman, president and chief executive officer. “The acquisition of IMS is another important step forward for Badger Meter and its utility customers in the southeastern U.S.”

When Badger Meter began acquiring distributors in 2014, sales were split evenly between company-owned and non-company owned distributors. After acquiring distributors in Colorado, Tennessee and South Carolina, only 20 percent of products were sold through non-Badger Meter owned distributors.

Meeusen said another distributor acquisition was possible this year during the company’s earnings call in February.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The South Carolina distributor was acquired last year for $6.2 million, including $2 million in cash and the settlement of $4.2 million in pre-existing company receivables, according to securities filings. The Tennessee distributor was acquired in 2015 for $3.3 million, including $400,000 in cash and $2.9 million in pre-existing receivables.