Kingspan Said to Make Rebuffed Proposal for Tie-Up With Carlisle

Carlisle Cos. jumped the most in more than four years on news the company had rebuffed an informal approach from Kingspan Group Plc to create a building materials giant with a combined market value of almost $30 billion.

(Bloomberg) — Carlisle Cos. jumped the most in more than four years on news the company had rebuffed an informal approach from Kingspan Group Plc to create a building materials giant with a combined market value of almost $30 billion.

Bloomberg News reported on Sunday that Irish insulation and construction products company Kingspan proposed a tie-up with Carlisle in recent months. Carlisle rejected the pitch but signaled it would be open to at least reviewing a more attractive offer, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Carlisle’s shares rose as much as 11% on Monday — the biggest intraday jump since February 2019. The stock was up 10.3% at 12:03 p.m. in New York, giving the company a market capitalization of $13.8 billion.

Kingspan isn’t currently working on a formal takeover bid, some of the people said, asking not to be identified because deliberations are private. The company was broadly flat in Dublin for a market value of about €13.3 billion ($14.3 billion).

If Carlisle did explore a sale, it could trigger fresh interest from the Irish company as well as other building materials rivals, the people said. A representative for Kingspan declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Carlisle didn’t immediately provide comment.

Carlisle makes building envelope products and solutions, including construction materials and weather proofing assets. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based firm announced plans this month to sell its Carlisle Interconnect Technologies unit that provides products to the aerospace and medical technologies markets, which would make it a pure-play construction supplier.

News of Kingspan’s approach for Carlisle comes just days after another mega Irish-to-US deal was announced. Dublin-based Smurfit Kappa Group Plc and US firm WestRock said last week they are in talks to merge, potentially creating an industry giant with a market value of about $20 billion.

There has been a pick-up in deals in the building materials sector. Cementos Argos, the Colombian concrete maker, announced earlier this month it will merge its US operation with Summit Materials Inc. in a deal valued at $3.2 billion. And Swiss company Georg Fischer AG offered to buy Finnish plumbing-equipment manufacturer Uponor Oyj in June.

European companies are showing increased appetite to do deals in the US to benefit from more stable economy and President Biden-promoted investments in infrastructure, as well as deeper capital markets.

Kingspan in April announced plans to delist from the London Stock Exchange, marking another potential high-profile departure from the flagship UK market. Smurfit and WestRock also said this month they would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In July, Kingspan agreed to buy a majority stake in Steico SE from its founder to add natural insulation and wood-based building envelope products.

–With assistance from Ruth David.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com