John Bean Technologies Corporation JBT announced that its voluntary takeover offer to acquire Marel hf expired on Dec. 20, 2024, and 97.5% of Marel shareholders have approved the deal. With this, JBT has cleared all necessary conditions for its more than a-year-long chase for Marel. The JBT and Marel combination, expected to occur on Jan. 2, 2025, will form a leading food and beverage technology company. 

JBT will change its corporate name to “JBT Marel Corporation” and ticker to “JBTM”. JBTM shares will remain listed on the NYSE with a secondary listing on Nasdaq Iceland. Shares of JBTM are expected to start trading on both NYSE and Nasdaq Iceland on Jan. 3, 2025.

John Bean’s Pursuit for Marel

Headquartered in Iceland, Marel is an international food processing company. It manufactures equipment and provides other services to the poultry, meat and fish industries. John Bean made the first offer to Marel at €3.15 per share in November 2023, which was subsequently increased to €3.40 per share in December 2023. 

On June 20, 2024, JBT formally announced a voluntary takeover offer to purchase all issued and existing Marel shares for €3.60 per share. This voluntary takeover offer was set to expire on Dec. 20, 2024. 

In August, the combination was approved by JBT shareholders. In November, John Bean secured formal confirmations from the Australian Competition and the Consumer Commission and the European Commission. Now that the deal has been accepted by more than 90% of Marel shareholders, which was the minimum threshold, the acquisition has successfully overcome its final hurdle.

JBT Marel to Offer Enhanced Scale & Synergies

The proposed merger will unite the two renowned companies with complementary product portfolios, well-known brands and advanced technology. The combined company is expected to become a leading and diversified global food and beverage technology solutions provider. 

The combined company’s expected revenues (per JBT’s S-4 filing) run to $4 billion and the adjusted EBITDA margin is expected at more than 16%.

Within three years of the completion of the transaction, cost synergies are expected to exceed $125 million, driven by efficiencies in procurement, manufacturing, and general and administrative functions.

JBT Marel is expected to realize additional revenue synergies of more than $75 million within three years of closing, given attractive cross-selling, go-to-market effectiveness, scaled innovation and enhanced global customer care capabilities. The deal is anticipated to be accretive to earnings per share within the first full year of closing.

John Bean Stock’s Price Performance

JBT shares have gained 33% in the past three months compared with the industry’s 11.3% growth.

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JBT’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

John Bean currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks from the Industrial Products sector are Graham Corporation GHM, Northwest Pipe Company NWPX and Zebra Technologies ZBRA. Each stock presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. 

Graham delivered an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 101.85%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GHM’s 2024 earnings is pinned at $1.03 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 145.2%. The company’s shares have gained 35% in the past three months.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Northwest Pipe’s 2024 earnings is pinned at $3.31 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 58.4%. NWPX delivered an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 32.5%. The company’s shares have gained 13% in the past three months. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Zebra Technologies’ 2024 earnings is pinned at $14.04 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 43%. ZBRA delivered an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.2%. Zebra Technologies’ shares have gained 8% in the past three months.

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