Industrials M&A Transactions

Meghan Welch quoted in, “Boeing Suppliers Ripe for Capital Infusions,” The Deal

BGL Managing Director Meghan Welch, who is a senior member of the firm’s Aerospace, Defense & Government Services investment banking team, recently spoke with The Deal on how Boeing’s recent announcement to boost its manufacturing footprint could create new opportunities for private equity sponsors and founder-owned businesses across the aerospace supply chain.

In the article, Meghan highlights the role private equity is playing in supporting capital needs of lower tier suppliers that are often the sole providers of critical components and expertise.

BGL’s Aerospace, Defense & Government Services (ADGS) investment banking team has decades of relevant experience and a network of long-standing relationships across a broad range of subsectors, including aerospace technology, aviation services & distribution, defense, space, and government technology & services.

For all of Meghan’s insights, read the complete article on The Deal website (subscription required).

Constrained Shipbuilding Capacity Creates Opportunity for Strategic and Private Equity Investors

The challenges confronting the U.S. maritime industrial base are not the result of a single policy decision or procurement cycle. Rather, they reflect the cumulative effects of more than three decades of industrial consolidation, constrained commercial demand, shifting national security priorities, and sustained underinvestment. The convergence of these structural forces has eroded domestic maritime capacity while creating the conditions for what may become one of the most significant industrial modernization and investment cycles in decades, according to a new defense report released by the Aerospace, Defense & Government Services investment banking team at Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL).

At the same time, the commercial maritime sector followed a fundamentally different trajectory. While the Jones Act of 1920 preserved a strategically important domestic shipbuilding capability, it did not create the commercial scale necessary to sustain a globally competitive industrial base. The limited size of the protected U.S. market constrained production volumes, discouraged long-term capital investment, and restricted the continuous workload required to develop a deep supplier ecosystem, modern manufacturing infrastructure, and skilled workforce.

In contrast, China, South Korea, and Japan treated commercial shipbuilding as a strategic national industry, using commercial demand to continuously modernize shipyards, strengthen supplier networks, develop skilled labor, and build manufacturing scale. By comparison, the United States entered today’s maritime rebuilding cycle without the commercial industrial foundation necessary to rapidly expand naval production, leaving shipyards and critical suppliers as structural bottlenecks rather than scalable strategic assets.

These trends were further reinforced during the post-9/11 era. For nearly two decades, defense funding prioritized counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, emphasizing tactical mobility, precision strike, intelligence, and expeditionary capabilities. While operationally necessary, this focus diverted sustained investment away from naval shipbuilding, fleet sustainment, and the broader maritime industrial base. The cumulative result is an industrial ecosystem that retains world-class engineering and naval design capabilities but increasingly lacks the manufacturing capacity required to scale production rapidly.

Today, the principal constraint on U.S. maritime competitiveness is no longer technological innovation—it is industrial throughput. Although the United States continues to lead in naval architecture, systems integration, and advanced maritime technologies, production remains constrained.

For investors, this represents a fundamental shift in where value is created. Historically, capital flowed primarily toward shipbuilders and major naval procurement programs. Increasingly, however, value is migrating toward the enabling technologies, specialized manufacturers, and industrial infrastructure that determine production capacity, fleet readiness, and supply-chain resilience. As public policy, defense spending, and private capital converge around rebuilding America’s maritime industrial base, the investment opportunity extends well beyond traditional shipyards to encompass advanced manufacturing, industrial automation, autonomy, defense technology, critical suppliers, and digital engineering and sustainment capabilities that collectively define maritime industrial resilience.

DOWNLOAD FULL INSIDER

About BGL’s Aerospace, Defense & Government Services Investment Banking Team

BGL Advises Bull Moose Tube Company

BullMoose Tube acquired Hanna Steel Corporation

Client Description

Founded in 1962, Bull Moose is part of the Caparo family of companies. The company operates seven manufacturing facilities across the United States and offers one of the largest ranges of welded steel tubing in North America. Bull Moose products serve a wide variety of applications, including commercial construction, infrastructure, fire protection, heavy equipment, transportation, and engineered products.

BGL Announces Bull Moose Tube Company has Completed the Acquisition of Hanna Steel Corporation

Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm, is pleased to announce that Bull Moose Tube Company (Bull Moose), a leading manufacturer of steel pipe & tubing products, has completed the acquisition of Hanna Steel Corporation, a producer of structural and mechanical steel tubing. Hanna Steel will now operate as a division of Bull Moose. The transaction closed on August 31, 2026. BGL’s Metals & Advanced Metals Manufacturing investment banking team served as the exclusive financial advisor to Bull Moose in the transaction.

Transaction Details

The combination brings together two organizations with a shared commitment to safety, customer service, quality and growth – creating a stronger, more aligned platform than either company could achieve as separate entities. With aligned values and complementary cultures, Bull Moose and Hanna will operate as one team, accelerating the sharing of best practices and delivering best in class service across our customers, employees, and partners.

“The acquisition of Hanna Steel is a strong strategic fit for Bull Moose as we continue to expand our capabilities and enhance value for our customers,” said John Krupinski, Chief Executive Officer of Bull Moose Tube Company. “Hanna adds complementary assets, experienced teams, a respected reputation and culture, along with a product portfolio that supports our long-term growth strategy. The BGL team demonstrated their experience and knowledge in the steel sector throughout the entire process, and we are very pleased with the outcome.”

Chairman of Bull Moose Tube Company, the Hon. Ambar Paul, said, “We continue to assess and pursue strategic opportunities that strengthen Bull Moose Tube’s position as a best-in-class steel tube producer. As our third major investment in recent years, Hanna Steel builds on a clear pattern of strategic expansion – adding depth to our manufacturing capabilities and reinforcing our commitment to long-term, sustainable growth.”

Vice-Chair of Hanna Steel, Jill Cunningham, said, “The acquisition of Hanna Steel by Bull Moose Tube marks an exciting new chapter for our customers, employees and suppliers. Joining forces with Bull Moose Tube allows us to pair our legendary commitment to consistency and customer service with Bull Moose’s impressive scale and quality. We are proud of the legacy we’ve built and look forward to the future of Hanna under Bull Moose’s stewardship.”

About BGL’s Metals & Advanced Metals Manufacturing Investment Banking Team

BGL’s Metals & Advanced Metals Manufacturing team has deep sector knowledge and extensive Metals M&A transaction experience within major subsectors of the broader metals industry. Coverage includes mills and foundries, metals recycling, advanced metals manufacturing, and metal service centers.

Learn more here.

Andrew Petryk Authors “A Selective Market” for Window + Door Magazine

BGL’s Head of Industrials Andrew K. Petryk, who also leads the firm’s Building Products investment banking team, is a featured contributor for Window + Door Magazine – a publication of the National Glass Association (NGA), with a piece entitled, “A Selective Market.”

In the article, Andrew discusses how the M&A market is open for high-quality businesses that can demonstrate resilience and a credible path to growth. He also shares the compelling investment attributes of the window and door industry, noting how private equity sponsors like the fragmentation because it presents opportunities to build value through add-on acquisitions, operational improvements, and geographic expansion.

For all of Andrew’s insights on deal activity in the window and door industry, read the complete article on the Window + Door Magazine website.

ACG Columbus 2026 Aerospace & Defense Dealmaking & Investment Summit

The inaugural 2026 ACG Columbus Aerospace & Defense Dealmaking & Investment Summit is a premier gathering designed to accelerate investment, partnerships, and growth across the aerospace and defense ecosystem.

BGL Managing Director Meghan Welch will be speaking on a panel session entitled, “Dealmaking in a New Defense Era: Where Capital is Flowing and What it Means for Buyers and Sellers,” on Tuesday, September 22. During the session, Meghan will discuss the state of dealmaking across the aerospace and defense sector.

And in her latest report, Meghan examines the emerging opportunities for private equity and infrastructure investors in the maritime defense sector and the recent deal activity and capital strategies that are shaping the market. To read, download, and share the report, visit our Research page.

Craig Decker and Meghan Welch quoted in, “Private Capital is Returning to the Maritime Industrial Base,” The Maritime Executive

BGL Managing Directors Craig Decker and Meghan Welch were recently featured in an article by The Maritime Executive.

The article explored the key takeaways from the BGL Maritime Insider, which include the emerging opportunities for private equity and infrastructure investors in the maritime defense sector and the recent deal activity and capital strategies that are shaping the market.

To read the complete article, visit The Maritime Executive website.

BGL Industrials Insider — Private Capital is Returning to the Maritime Industrial Base

BGL Managing Director Meghan Welch: “The companies best positioned to create value will be those that combine differentiated technology or scarce qualifications with the operational ability to industrialize. In the next maritime cycle, innovation will matter, but industrialization will determine who wins.”

BGL Managing Director Craig Decker: “As institutional capital looks for new deployment opportunities, shipyards are emerging as an increasingly compelling area for infrastructure and private equity investment. Regulatory enforcement, evolving policy priorities, and the limited supply of maritime infrastructure and skilled labor are creating attractive market dynamics and drawing investor interest to a sector that has historically received limited institutional investment.”

In the report, BGL examines the emerging opportunities for private equity and infrastructure investors in the maritime defense sector and the recent deal activity and capital strategies that are shaping the market.

Key defense industry trends and takeaways include:

Why federal policy and trade are becoming a durable demand signal for investment
How fleet readiness is creating recurring demand for the aftermarket
Why consolidation is accelerating across the naval defense sector

Private equity, infrastructure capital and venture investment are entering the maritime market through different channels. Private equity is consolidating fragmented suppliers and repair capabilities. Infrastructure investors are attracted to long-duration assets such as shipyards, dry docks and port facilities that require patient capital. Venture investors are funding autonomous systems, sensing, advanced manufacturing and maritime software.

The investment case is supported by durable government demand, large prime-contractor backlogs, strategic scarcity and bipartisan recognition that capacity must expand. It is also supported by market fragmentation. A single ship class can depend on thousands of suppliers, while repair markets are often divided among regional yards and specialized trades. This creates room for scaled platforms that improve coordination, broaden capabilities, and invest in modern systems.

About BGL’s Aerospace, Defense & Government Services Investment Banking Team

Automation, AI, and the Future of Industrial Technology M&A

The landscape for industrial tech M&A reflects many of the thematic challenges and opportunities across the current broader macro environment. The long-term tailwinds that have driven interest in pursuing transactions in recent years remain intact and buyers increasingly view M&A as core to achieving identified strategic objectives; however, the current environment is characterized by fewer broad auctions, with sellers pursuing targeted processes with buyers that have a clear rationale. The numbers bear this out, with mega-deals (transactions above $5 billion) now accounting for 56% of deal value, up from just 18% in fiscal year 2024, according to PwC. At the same time, overall deal count has declined, reflecting fewer, larger, more deliberate transactions rather than a broad-based recovery in volume.

As the data would suggest, strategic acquirers are playing a more prominent role as they become increasingly accustomed to making decisions amidst persistent uncertainties. Strategic buyers accounted for 86% of both the last 12 months’ deal value and year-to-date 2026 deal volume in industrial manufacturing, according to PwC, underscoring how firmly corporate buyers are setting the pace. Strong operating performance and robust valuations have emboldened many strategics to pursue acquisitions, particularly where M&A is viewed as a means to accelerating long-term strategic roadmaps and where there is an added urgency to buy proven solutions as opposed to building capabilities internally, with the buy-versus-build calculus increasingly favoring M&A.

Automation Demand Remains Durable

The factors driving industrial automation adoption remain persistent. Labor availability, wage inflation, the shift towards e-commerce, and increasingly complex fulfillment environments are pressuring operators to reduce their dependence on labor to maintain continuity. While customers have become more sophisticated in evaluating and implementing automation within their operations, technologies have matured and become better equipped to address customer pain points and demonstrate return on investment. However, adoption is not frictionless; the cost of capital and pressure on capital expenditure budgets are causing customers to scrutinize how quickly they deploy new solutions.

The market remains early in its development. Outside of the largest, most sophisticated operators, many companies are still early in their automation journey. Recent data from the 2026 MHI Annual Industry report found that 35% of the organizations surveyed currently deploy robotics and automation, while another 38% plan to implement these technologies within the next five years. Legacy equipment, fragmented data, and incomplete workflows can make it difficult to implement automation and to establish clear ROI expectations without first making incremental operational improvements.

Buyers Favor Proven, Defensible Solutions

The accelerated adoption of new automation solutions post-COVID resulted in linear growth expectations that have not been borne out in subsequent years. As a result, investors and acquirers of automation today have a more sober minded understanding of the profile of attractive targets – those that combine compelling technology with demonstrated evidence that the solution works in real-world environments in line with customer expectations. Buyers are increasingly looking for proven deployments at scale, attractive unit economics, strong customer ROI, and the ability to tailor solutions to dynamic operating conditions. Businesses that install solutions seamlessly, reduce integration risk, and generate repeat customer orders are better positioned to command premium interest.

Recurring revenue is another differentiator. Companies that monetize an installed base through software, maintenance, and services offer buyers a more durable, defensible business model. Sponsors are increasingly seeking these capabilities through add-on acquisitions that strengthen otherwise project-oriented platforms. Acquirers are increasingly focused on businesses that combine hardware and software as a delivery mechanism for AI. While hardware-centric models were previously viewed as capital-intensive and difficult to scale, physical deployments are now viewed as providing protection from AI-native software solutions.

“Having a physical element to the solution or a physical deployment is a nice way to ensure it’s harder to be disintermediated,” said Peter Finn, who leads BGL’s Industrial Technology investment banking team.

M&A Is Advancing Physical AI Strategies

Investor interest in physical AI has accelerated, with companies in the sector raising $8.2 billion globally during the first half of 2026, which is more than double the capital raised during all of 2025, according to a Pitchbook report released in July 2026. Strategic buyers are using acquisitions to fill capability gaps, extend existing solutions, and advance physical AI roadmaps. Targets may provide data-capture capabilities, autonomy or perception technology, or tools that move buyers closer to the long-term goal of broader process orchestration and optimization.

Part of what buyers are underwriting is a shift in the underlying technology itself. Traditional, rules-based automation is reliable but inflexible; solutions perform consistently within programmed parameters but require costly re-engineering when conditions change, such as the introduction of a new SKU or a modified floor layout. In contrast, AI-enabled systems continuously learn from data and generalize to address novel situations, improving with deployment rather than staying fixed at installation. Targets that have demonstrated reliable, AI-differentiated performance in real operating environments – or provide a path for achieving that objective – are commanding the most buyer interest.

What’s Ahead for Industrial Technology in the Second Half of 2026

Automation thematically will continue to drive interest from both private equity and strategics given the availability of organic and inorganic growth opportunities. Strategics are expected to remain more active in the near term, due in part to their longer investment horizons and urgency to acquire capabilities in a competitive environment..

Private equity buyers are approaching the market differently. Because many industrial technology subsectors remain fragmented, sponsors continue to pursue platform strategies focused on adding capabilities, geographies, and adjacent markets. They are generally less focused on standalone point solutions and more interested in scaled, profitable “picks-and-shovels” businesses, such as systems integrators and service providers,” said Finn. Systems integrator sale processes are likely to accelerate as businesses produce several strong quarters and build growing backlogs, potentially driving broader sponsor-backed activity.

For differentiated industrial technology companies, success will increasingly hinge on the ability to demonstrate clear customer value and a profitable business model amidst the convergence of physical operations, software, robotics, and AI. An improving macroeconomic backdrop and a rebalancing of activity towards private equity buyers will create a competitive environment for sellers; as a result, transaction activity is expected to accelerate, particularly in areas addressing acute operational pain points.

About BGL’s Industrial Technology Investment Banking Team

BGL’s Industrial Technology investment banking professionals have extensive global transaction experience, valuable relationships, and knowledge across the industrial technology ecosystem, including automation, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and electronic components.

Our team has extensive experience sourcing and executing IPOs, sell-side M&A, buy-side M&A, private placements, strategic alternatives, and corporate markets advisory. BGL’s clients rely on our bankers to navigate the rapidly changing landscape and to help them achieve their goals through industrial technology M&A and private capital advisory services.

Peter Finn quoted in, “Warehouse automation M&A shifts to data as 2021 hardware buyers exit,” Mergermarket

BGL Managing Director Peter Finn, who leads the firm’s activities in Industrial Technology investment banking, was recently quoted in a Mergermarket article entitled, “Warehouse automation M&A shifts to data as 2021 hardware buyers exit.”

In the article, Peter discusses the shift in how byers are valuing warehouse automation companies, acquirers are increasingly rewarded businesses with demonstrated deployments, attractive unit economics, and limited integration risk rather than simply differentiated technology.

Read the full article on the Mergermarket website (subscription required).