A Georgia-based liquid gas technology firm and manufacturer has acquired BlueInGreen, a water cleantech company in Fayetteville.
Chart Industries has purchased BlueInGreen, which is a water solutions company that provides a method for delivering dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide and ozone into water. Chart Industries acquired the company for $20 million in cash plus a potential earn-out that will not exceed $6 million.
“We are thrilled to join Chart Industries’ portfolio of proven technologies and iconic brands,” BlueInGreen CEO and President Chris Milligan said in a statement. “This partnership pairs BlueInGreen’s expertise with Chart’s global footprint, allowing for enhanced integration, increased response time and a more robust service fleet as we collectively bridge the gap between industrial gas and water markets,” Milligan continued. “While we are far from our startup days, our services, our technology, our team and our mission at BlueInGreen have not changed. We will always be BIG. But with Chart’s wealth of knowledge, relationships and resources, BIG just got a lot bigger.”
According to Chart Industries president and CEO Jill Evanko, Milligan will head up the combined company’s business end and work with its commercial and engineering divisions.
“In addition to this being a natural fit for us, we gain an experienced management team full of engineering and industry experts who are committed to staying with the business,” Evanko said. “Chris Milligan, CEO of BlueInGreen, will run the combined water treatment business and work closely with our global commercial and engineering teams as we further penetrate water treatment projects in both domestic and international markets. This is yet another step in our ability to leverage the unique opportunity that Chart has with hydrogen, LNG, and water working together to address sustainability, power and water needs.”
BlueInGreen was founded in 2004 by two University of Arkansas professors – Dr. Scott Osborn and Dr. Marty Matlock – and VIC Technology Venture Development. Osborn previously served as the company’s president, chief technology officer and as a board member, while Matlock was formerly an officer and board member.
This is not the first time Chart Industries and BlueInGreen have worked together. Per the announcement of the acquisition, the two companies have collaborated extensively with Chart Industries’ cryogenic storage and vaporization equipment providing the feed gas for BlueInGreen’s technology. Through the acquisition, Chart Industries intends to provide its combined services through Treatment-as-a-Service contracts, capital sales or a combination.
Following the acquisition, Chart Industries updated its 2021 outlook to sales of $1.335 billion from $1.260 billion.
As part of the acquisition process, Chart Industries utilized Winston & Strawn as legal advisors, while BlueInGreen used SmithHurst PLC as legal advisor and Boenning & Scattergood Inc. as financial advisor.
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Image courtesy of BlueInGreen