PX3 has entered into a definitive agreement for Cleanova to acquire Micronics, creating a $1.3 billion global leader in industrial filtration

LONDON, March 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- PX3 Partners ("PX3"), the London-headquartered private equity firm, announces today that its portfolio company Cleanova is acquiring Micronics Engineered Filtration Group ("Micronics"). This transformative industrial combination will create one of the largest independent industrial filtration businesses in the world, with an enterprise value of $1.3 billion. The transaction is expected to complete in the second quarter of 2025.

Headquartered in Killarney, Ireland, Cleanova is a leading global clean-tech manufacturer of consumable, mission-critical, and engineered industrial filtration systems, helping customers ensure the reliability and efficiency of their industrial processes while protecting the environment. It serves a diversified customer base operating in a wide range of industrial end markets globally. Cleanova operates in an attractive, large, and growing addressable market, with a significant global installed base and a resilient, predictable, and recurring aftermarket.

Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, Micronics is a leading global clean-tech manufacturer of filter media, industrial filtration systems, and provider of a broad range of expert field services, delivering customised air and liquid filtration solutions to meet demanding requirements across a variety of industrial applications. Micronics' solutions help customers maintain reliable operations, enhance efficiency, and contribute to environmental protection worldwide.

Cleanova and Micronics are highly complementary across markets, geographies, and products. While both businesses already operate globally, the combined company will benefit from Micronics' strong presence in North America and Cleanova's leading position in EMEA. Similarly, Cleanova's leadership in liquid filtration solutions will be enhanced by Micronics' upstream pressure and vacuum filtration process offerings as well as its air filtration solutions. The combined company, which will retain Cleanova as its name and move its headquarters to Chattanooga, will have comprehensive operations across a broad spectrum of applications and end markets, further enhancing the ability to deliver innovative, advanced and broader filtration solutions to customers globally.

This landmark transaction aligns closely with the three pillars of PX3's investment strategy. By delivering highly engineered filtration products focussed on customer needs and reducing environmental pollution, Cleanova benefits from two of the transformative themes that PX3 seeks to underwrite, namely Compete Smarter and Planet First. Furthermore, it operates within the branded light manufacturing segment of industrials, one of PX3's areas of focus. Finally, Cleanova possesses the strong business fundamentals that PX3 exclusively invests behind. The combination further leverages PX3's situational differentiation, including its transatlantic reach and global DNA, buy-and-build capabilities, and Connected Acceleration^™ value creation model.

As part of the transaction, Chris Cummins, Chief Executive Officer of Micronics, will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer of the enlarged Cleanova business. Javaid Riaz, incumbent Chief Executive Officer of Cleanova, will continue to serve on Cleanova's Board of Directors, support the combination of the two companies, and continue to provide strategic counsel to the company.

Micronics' current control shareholder, Vance Street Capital, and Micronics' management team will both reinvest a substantial proportion of their sale proceeds as part of the transaction, underscoring their confidence in the future success of Cleanova. PX3 will invest more capital and will continue to control the company.

The Managing Partners of PX3 commented: "Following our carve-out acquisition of Cleanova in October 2023, we established it as an independent business, invested substantially in its management team and operations, enhancing its offering and accelerating growth, and acquired two complementary companies. This milestone transaction significantly accelerates the industrial transformation we envisioned from the outset, establishing an independent global leader in filtration. We look forward to continuing to support Cleanova in the execution of its strategy, delivering value to its customers and shareholders."

Chris Cummins, designated Chief Executive Officer of Cleanova, remarked: "Joining forces with Cleanova marks a pivotal moment for our business, positioning us for a new chapter of accelerated growth and innovation at a global scale. This strategic move will accelerate our ongoing objectives to expand our global reach and further diversify our product and service offerings while maintaining our commitment to delivering excellence to our customers."

Javaid Riaz, Member of the Board of Directors, Cleanova, remarked: "This transformational partnership with Micronics marks a significant milestone in Cleanova's growth journey, propelling us into a new phase of geographical expansion and product diversification. Cleanova and Micronics are highly complementary businesses and we are excited to join forces to become a leading independent industrial filtration company globally."

BofA Securities and Santander are serving as financial advisors to PX3, Weil, Gotshal & Manges is serving as legal advisor, and Jefferies, Goldman Sachs, and Santander provided committed debt financing for the transaction. PX3 further enlisted the support of Alvarez & Marsal as accounting and tax advisor, Aon as benefits, insurance, and pension advisor, Debevoise & Plimpton as tax structuring advisor, Kearney as synergy and operational advisor, KPMG as ESG advisor, Phoenix Advantage as IT advisor, and Rothschild & Co as debt financing advisor.

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About PX3 Partners

PX3 stands for purpose, passion, and performance. It is a pan-European private equity firm founded in 2021 by Petter Johnsson, Gianpiero Lenza, and Sébastien Mazella di Bosco with headquarters in London. It invests behind transformative themes and targets companies operating within select segments of the business services, consumer and leisure, and industrials sectors with strong business fundamentals. PX3 is committed to supporting ambitious entrepreneurs and management teams build great businesses through transformative growth internationally and operational improvement. PX3 is the continuation and consolidation of the founding partners' investment strategy and their relationship-focused and distinctive value creation model honed over 20 years working together. www.px3partners.com

SOURCE PX3 Partners