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Advanced Drainage Systems acquires Infiltrator Water Technologies for $1.08 billion

Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS), a manufacturer of corrugated pipe and other water management products, acquired Infiltrator Water Technologies (Infiltrator), a manufacturer of products for on-site septic wastewater treatment systems, for approximately $1.08 billion from an affiliate of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and other stockholders.

ADS manufacturers products for commercial, residential, infrastructure and agricultural applications, and will now expand into the wastewater treatment industry with this new acquisition. ADS and Infiltrator have worked together for years prior to the announcement, with Infiltrator a long-standing customer of ADS products.

“Infiltrator is a natural fit for us and for our customers. This acquisition will allow us to offer an enhanced suite of water management solutions to a broader set of customers and expand our addressable opportunity in the attractive and related on-site septic business,” said Scott Barbour, President and CEO of ADS, in a released statement.

“This acquisition is a welcome extension of our more than 15-year partnership built on mutual admiration and respect,” said Roy Moore, President and CEO of Infiltrator Water Technologies. “We have always shared a similar vision, core values, and executed comparable conversion strategies to displace traditional materials.”

Infiltrator CEO Roy Moore and key managers will stay with the company and operate as a business unit within ADS.

Combination Benefits

The companies say the “acquisition will add to the combined company’s distribution networks and increase availability of products to customers.”

Infiltrator is a national provider of plastic leach field chambers and systems, septic tanks and accessories, primarily for use in residential applications. Infiltrator products are used in on-site water treatment systems in the U.S. and Canada and Infiltrator has been a longstanding supplier and customer of ADS for over 15 years.

The acquisition combines Infiltrator’s position in on-site septic wastewater management with ADS’ stormwater-focused platform and extends ADS’ opportunity into the attractive and related on-site septic business.

Business aside, the companies say the transaction brings two like-minded companies focused on “preserving one of the plant’s most precious resources – water,” together.

Infiltrator also brings significant recycled raw material sourcing capabilities, in both polypropylene and polyethylene, with 75 per cent of their collective products sourced from recycled resin, which equates to approximately 150 million pounds of recycled plastic annually.

According to an analysis by Plastics News, both businesses are gaining market share as more customers turn to plastic systems for storm water and septic solutions over traditional materials like concrete. The combination of Infiltrator and ADS is expected to create synergies of $20 million to $25 million by the third year through manufacturing, recycling, logistics and significant cross-selling opportunities, ADS president Scott Barbour told Plastics News.