Acquisitions and Divestitures

6 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2020

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Acquisitions and Divestitures

Acquisitions and Divestitures

In the first quarter of fiscal 2019, the Company acquired 88% of the shares of BOFA International LTD (BOFA), headquartered in the United Kingdom, for cash consideration of $98.2 million less cash acquired of $2.2 million. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, the Company acquired an additional 3% of the shares, increasing its ownership to 91%. BOFA designs, develops and manufactures fume extraction systems across a wide range of industrial air filtration applications. The acquisition allowed the Company to accelerate its global growth in the fume collection business and add additional filtration technology to the Company’s existing product lines.

On February 21, 2020, the Company received a binding offer from Nelson Global Products (Nelson) for the purchase of the Exhaust and Emissions (E&E) business. Previous synergies between air cleaners and exhaust products, including construction and technical knowledge, have dissolved due to changes in regulations and technology.

Subsequent to the binding offer, the Company began the consultation process with its employee representative committees in France. Following the Works Council consultation processes, the Company may accept the offer and move ahead with the transaction. The transaction would be subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The Company expects the transaction would close during the third quarter of fiscal year 2020.