US tool maker snaps up Boeing parts supplier

US toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker Inc said Wednesday it is acquiring Boeing Co supplier Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing LLC for as much as $1.5 billion, with a portion of the price contingent on Boeing’s troubled 737 MAX aircraft returning to the skies.

The terms of the deal illustrate how consolidation among Boeing’s vendors is being reshaped by its woes. Boeing grounded the 737 MAX in March, 2019 following two crashes that killed more than 340 people and has halted production as it updates the plane’s flight control system and software.

About $200 million of the purchase price are contingent on the 737 MAX receiving US Federal Aviation Administration authorization to return to service and Boeing achieving certain production levels, Stanley Black & Decker said in a statement.

When adjusted for approximately $185 million of expected cash tax benefits, the net transaction value is between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion, the company noted.

CAM, currently owned by investment firm Tinicum, makes fasteners and other components for the aerospace industry.

The acquisition will help Stanley Black & Decker diversify its business beyond tools and storage, which account for about two-thirds of its revenue.

The New Britain, Connecticut-based company has spent more than $10 billion on acquisitions in the last two decades, including the tools business of Newell Brands Inc for $1.84 billion and the Craftsman brand of Sears Holdings Corp for $937 million.

However, bulking up on tools has increased the company’s exposure to big-box retailers such as Home Depot Inc and Lowe’s Companies Inc, which limits its bargaining power. The CAM deal would help it boost its engineered fastening and infrastructure business.

“Growing and diversifying our industrial business through M&A is a key priority for the company and a focus of our strategic capital deployment,” Stanley Black & Decker Chief Executive James Loree said in the statement.