Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) recently announced that it has entered an arrangement agreement to acquire publicly-traded British Columbia company, International Barrier Technology, Inc., based in Watkins, Minnesota, United States (U.S.) for US$22 million.
LP will buy over 100 per cent of Barrier’s shares, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary, and the transaction is subject to the approval of the Barrier’s shareholders and satisfaction of customary conditions, including the approval of the court.
Barrier manufactures and produces the fire retardant coating used in the LP® FlameBlock® fire rated products.
“We are confident that this acquisition will help accelerate our growth into new markets,” CEO of LP, Brad Southern, said.
Presently, demand for fire resistant products in residential and commercial buildings is growing, fuelled by changing building codes which are being enforced.
“Over the last seven years, we have validated the market acceptance of the FlameBlock brand and demonstrated strong sales growth,” Southern noted. “Flame retardant products are a key development target of our Growth and Innovation plans.”
Mike Huddy, CEO of Barrier, stated that the success of the FlameBlock brand as well as LP’s commitment to flame retardant products was one of the reasons why Barrier would be a good match for LP.
“We believe our fire resistant technology is in great hands with an innovative company like LP,” he said.
As part of the agreement, LP will continue to honour Barrier’s existing contracts with their customers, and will also see to its customers’ needs. In addition, Barrier will operate as part of LP’s oriented strand board (OSB) business.
The acquisition is expected to be concluded by the end of 2017.
