Big acquisitions result in big profit boosts for Minnesota companies APi and nVent

APi Group spent $570 million for an elevator services company in June 2024, and that move contributed to the majority of a 15% sales boost in the latest quarter.

NVent saw sales from continuing operations increase 30% in the spring months, fueled by the acquisitions in 2023 and 2024 of electrical connectivity products company ECM Industries, and Trachte, a maker of custom-engineered control buildings.

It has been a sluggish mergers-and-acquisitions market nationally, but look for APi Group to make more deals by the end of the year.

CEO Russ Becker said the New Brighton-based company that offers fire and safety products, among others, has a budget of about $250 million to make acquisitions this year. APi already has letters of intent on some of them, he told analysts in the most recent earnings call.

During the spring, APi bought six businesses, including another elevator service business. The deals were small, and the company did not disclose terms.

For the second quarter, APi’s profits were up 12% to $77 million, or 16 cents a share, on revenue of $2 billion.

The new elevator business complements Elevated, which primarily operates in the South and Midwest.

After its financial report on Thursday, the stock increased 4.8% to close at $36.07 a share, a 52-week high. It was back down to $35.07 at the end of Friday.

NVent’s shares also hit a 52-week high after announcing its results on Friday, with shares closing at $89.88, up 14.6%.

At nVent, which is based in the U.K. but run out of St. Louis Park, the acquired businesses performed better than expected, CEO Beth Wozniak said.

With the acquisitions and the 2024 sale of its thermal management products business, nVent is focused more on higher-growth electrical connection and protection products and services.

Wozniak has said a big part of growth will be AI and data center products.