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Kewaunee Scientific has agreed to buy laboratory design and installation business Nycom for an initial base price of $55 million, moving to put more of the work of planning, supplying and fitting out laboratories under one corporate roof.
The laboratory-furniture manufacturer announced the agreement Monday. The purchase has not closed. Both boards have approved it, but customary closing conditions remain, and Kewaunee expects completion in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2027.
The base price is not a guaranteed final amount. The agreement allows increases or decreases based on Nycom’s adjusted earnings and customary adjustments for working capital, cash, debt and transaction expenses.
Cash, a seller note and new shares
The initial $55 million consideration consists of a $20 million subordinated promissory note, $5 million in newly issued Kewaunee shares and the remaining $30 million in cash before adjustments. The company expects to fund the cash portion with money on hand and financing from PNC Bank at closing.
A seller note means part of the purchase price is owed to the seller rather than paid immediately in cash. Kewaunee said the note amount is itself subject to adjustments tied to Nycom’s earnings. The stock portion would also give the seller an ownership interest in the combined business.
Kewaunee makes laboratory casework, fume hoods, modular systems, work surfaces, sinks, biological safety cabinets and other specialist furniture and containment products. Nycom handles laboratory and interior-construction projects for research, healthcare and education facilities, including design, project management and installation.
A longtime supplier relationship becomes a proposed acquisition
The companies have worked together for decades. Kewaunee said the acquisition would connect its engineering and manufacturing more closely with Nycom’s local project-delivery teams, helping customers move from laboratory design to installation.
The planned addition follows Kewaunee’s formation of a Lab Products Group bringing together Kewaunee, NuAire and EVERHUTCH. Nycom would add distribution and installation capabilities to that product platform rather than another manufacturing brand alone.
Kewaunee said independent dealers would remain part of its strategy even as it considers buying selected regional businesses. Its stated plan is to use both company-owned operations and outside distribution partners, not to replace the entire independent-dealer network.
At closing, Nycom founder and chairman Jon Nystrom is expected to join Kewaunee’s board, while president Jonathan Nystrom would join its executive-management team under an employment agreement. Those appointments depend on completion of the transaction. Kewaunee said its immediate priority afterward would be continuity for Nycom’s employees, customers and existing relationships.
JBizNews Desk | Statesville, North Carolina
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