Lone Star to sell SPX Flow in $4.8B deal

Lone Star Funds has exited SPX Flow, a manufacturer of industrial processing equipment, in a $4.8 billion cash-and-stock deal.

The $95 billion special situations investor sold Charlotte-based SPX Flow to specialty components manufacturer ITT, expanding the company’s market presence for engineered components and technologies.

Lone Star initially acquired SPX Flow in 2022, taking it private in a deal valuing the business at around $3.8 billion.

SPX Flow generated $1.3 billion in revenue in the 12 months to Sept. 27.

The deal comes against the backdrop of declining average exit values, according to PitchBook’s latest US PE Breakdown. Exit value for PE-backed businesses in the US fell for the third consecutive quarter in Q3, down 41% from the peak posted in Q1 this year, though up on the average through the second half of 2024.

“Exit count is increasing, meaning that the quality and types of companies being brought to market are broadening out, which is a good sign for exit activity as a whole,” said Kyle Walters, PitchBook’s private equity analyst.

SPX Flow provides technology for mixing, blending, fluid handling, separation and thermal heat transfer across the nutrition, health and industrial markets.

Advisers on the deal included Goldman Sachs and UBS Investment Bank as financial advisers and Paul Hastings as legal counsel.

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