In the largest-ever acquisition by the St. Paul, Minn.-based manufacturing giant, 3M agreed to acquire Bloomington, Minn.-based Capital Safety from private equity firm KKR for $2.5 billion. Capital Safety is one of the industry's biggest makers of fall-protection safety equipment.
"The acquisition of Capital Safety bolsters our personal-safety platform and will build on our fundamental strengths in technology," said 3M Chairman Inge G. Thulin in a press statement. "Personal safety is a large and strategically important growth business in the 3M portfolio." In the same statement, 3M described the protective-equipment industry as a strategic priority for the company, citing an increased regulatory focus on worker safety around the world.