Crane Company, a diversified manufacturer of highly engineered industrial products that provides payment technologies to the casino industry, announced that its board of directors has unanimously approved a plan to pursue a separation into two independent, publicly traded companies to optimize investment and capital allocation, accelerate growth, and unlock shareholder value.
Upon completion, Crane Company’s shareholders will benefit from ownership in two focused and simplified businesses that are both leaders in their respective industries and well-positioned for continued success:
Crane Co. will be a leading global provider of mission-critical, highly engineered products and solutions, with differentiated technology, respected brands, and leadership positions in its markets. After the separation, Crane Co. will include the aerospace & electronics and process flow technologies businesses.
This year, these businesses are expected to generate approximately $1.9 billion in annual sales with a pre-corporate Adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 18.5 percent. Crane Co. will be led by Max Mitchell, who will continue to serve as president and CEO, with Rich Maue continuing to serve as chief financial officer. The company intends to continue to be listed on the NYSE under its current ticker symbol, CR.
Crane NXT will be a premier industrial technology business with substantial global scale, a best-in-class margin profile, and strong free cash flow generation. This year, the payment and merchandising technologies (PMT) business that will become Crane NXT is expected to achieve approximately $1.4 billion in sales with a pre-corporate Adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 28 percent.
In addition to its market leading brands, Crane NXT will differentiate itself through its technology leadership, positioning it to leverage long-term secular drivers including automation, security and productivity, across several high-growth adjacent markets.
After the separation, Crane NXT will be positioned to drive earnings growth through continued investment in the business and value-enhancing bolt-on acquisitions. Its balance sheet and strong free cash flow will also allow it to support a robust and differentiated level of capital return to shareholders that is expected to include a competitive dividend.
Crane NXT’s shares are expected to be listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol CXT. A process is currently underway to identify Crane NXT’s chief executive, including evaluation of both internal and external candidates. The executives currently leading Crane’s PMT business will continue to serve in senior positions with Crane NXT.
“This announcement marks a major milestone in the evolution of Crane Co,” said Mitchell. “For decades, we have delivered consistent and differentiated execution, strengthening our business through organic growth and value-creating acquisitions. Having achieved the scale to operate as two market-leading, separate companies, we believe this transaction will unlock substantial value for our shareholders, as each company attracts an investor base tailored to its respective financial and growth profile.”
