Enhances Digital Portfolio of Dover’s Environmental Solutions Group
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., January 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dover (NYSE: DOV) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire So. Cal. Soft-Pak, Incorporated (“Soft-Pak”), a leading independent provider of integrated back office, route management and customer relationship management software solutions to the waste and recycling fleet industry. Following the close of the transaction, Soft-Pak will become part of the Environmental Solutions Group (“ESG”) business unit, a leading supplier of waste handling solutions to the North American waste and recycling industry, in Dover’s Engineered Products segment.
Soft-Pak is headquartered in San Diego, California, and has a 30-year track-record of serving hundreds of waste and recycling fleets nationwide with innovative software solutions tailored to the fleet customers’ unique needs. In 2014 Soft-Pak launched a highly innovative and successful Mobile-Pak in-cab connected tablet solution, which includes real-time GPS tracking, route management in real-time, and various functionalities allowing integration of moving fleet into the hauler’s back-office.
The acquisition enhances ESG’s industry-leading digital offerings centered around connected refuse vehicle and productivity-enhancing solutions. Further integration between a fleet’s mobile assets, customer management and back-office operations will position ESG to deliver an industry-leading integrated offering for refuse vehicles.
“We are excited to bring together Soft-Pak’s well-recognized industry-specific software solutions and ESG’s growing software & digital portfolio. We believe the integrated solutions will drive growth of ESG’s core refuse vehicle offering and associated software, and deliver tangible value-add to our waste and recycling industry customers,” said Richard J. Tobin, Dover’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This transaction is another building block in Dover’s capital deployment strategy that emphasizes investments in attractive close-to-core markets that offer potential for sustainable, profitable growth, and where our team can create value for our shareholders.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020. Dover expects the acquisition to be accretive to the growth and margin profile of ESG and Dover, and to achieve double-digit return on capital in three years, consistent with Dover's M&A criteria.
About Dover:
Dover is a diversified global manufacturer with annual revenue of approximately $7 billion. We deliver innovative equipment and components, specialty systems, consumable supplies, software and digital solutions, and support services through five operating segments: Engineered Products, Fueling Solutions, Imaging & Identification, Pumps & Process Solutions and Refrigeration & Food Equipment. Dover combines global scale with operational agility to lead the markets we serve. Recognized for our entrepreneurial approach for over 60 years, our team of approximately 24,000 employees takes an ownership mindset, collaborating with customers to redefine what's possible. Headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, Dover trades on the New York Stock Exchange under “DOV.”
About ESG:
Environmental Solutions Group encompasses industry-leading brands — Heil Environmental, Parts Central, Marathon, Bayne, The Curotto-Can, and 3rd Eye — to create a premier, fully integrated equipment group serving the solid waste and recycling industry. Through extensive voice-of-customer outreach, in-house engineering and manufacturing capabilities, a wide-reaching service network, and proven industry expertise, ESG is focused on solving customer problems through environmentally responsible products and providing world-class support. For more information, visit www.doveresg.com.
About Soft-Pak:
Soft-Pak, formed in 1980 and based in San Diego, California, is a leading provider of software solutions for waste and recycling fleets. Soft-Pak software enables business-critical back-office operations crucial for waste hauling fleets, such as billing for collection and disposal, performing customer service and support, managing service contracts, dispatching trucks, modifying routes, and making payments with features tailored to the unique needs of the waste and recycling industries. Visit www.soft-pak.com for further information.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. All statements in this document other than statements of historical fact are statements that are, or could be deemed, “forward-looking” statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous important risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, general economic conditions and conditions in the particular markets in which we operate, changes in customer demand and capital spending, competitive factors and pricing pressures, our ability to develop and launch new products in a cost-effective manner, and our ability to realize synergies from newly acquired businesses. For details on the risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that may be contained herein, we refer you to the documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, and our reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. These documents are available from the SEC, and on our website, www.dovercorporation.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.