EQS-News: NORMA Group sells Water Management business to ADS

NORMA Group sells Water Management business to ADS

• Significant milestone in NORMA Group’s transformation into a focused industrial supplier
• The enterprise value of the transaction is one billion USD
• Proceeds will be used to repay debt, for value-accretive acquisitions, and returns to shareholders
• The buyer is Advanced Drainage Systems in Ohio (USA), a leading manufacturer of stormwater and wastewater management solutions
• NORMA Group specifies forecast for remaining company for financial year 2025

Maintal, Germany/Hilliard, OH, USA, September 23, 2025 - NORMA Group today signed an agreement to sell its Water Management business unit to Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (“ADS”). The enterprise value of the transaction is USD 1.0 billion. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.

CEO Mark Wilhelms: “The agreement represents a significant milestone in NORMA Group’s transformation into a focused industrial supplier. Once the transaction has been completed, we will eliminate our net debt, putting the company on even more sound financial footing and providing us with greater flexibility to expand our industrial business. We will now focus all our energy on consistently strengthening our core business of advanced joining technology in the two complementary business units Industry Applications and Mobility & New Energy.”

The Water Management business unit consists of several subsidiaries with a total of six plants in the USA, Mexico, India, Malaysia and Italy as well as additional sales and distribution locations. The business unit’s workforce comprises around 1,100 employees, primarily in America and Asia. Water Management develops, produces and sells irrigation systems, products for rainwater management and connection components for water infrastructure. In 2024, the Water Management business unit generated sales of around EUR 300 million (around USD 320 million), corresponding to a quarter of the Group’s sales of around EUR 1.2 billion.

Mark Wilhelms: “The water management business has developed very successfully over the past ten years under our ownership and delivered significant revenue and profitability growth thanks to the dedication of our employees in America, Asia and Europe. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to its management team and all our Water Management employees as well as to our business partners for the longstanding cooperation. We are convinced that ADS represents a very good home for the business.”

Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, ADS is a leading manufacturer of innovative stormwater and onsite wastewater solutions. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

According to initial calculations, NORMA Group expects a net cash inflow of around EUR 620 million to around EUR 640 million from a successful closing. This total is based on proceeds upon completion of the agreement which are subject to the usual purchase price adjustment mechanisms as of the reporting date and is net of taxes and transaction costs. The proceeds from the sale are to be used to reduce debt by around EUR 300 million. The company expects to reserve up to EUR 70 million for value-accretive acquisitions to expand the Industry Applications business unit. The Management Board plans to return the remaining portion of the net cash inflow to shareholders, potentially in a first step through a share buyback program. After the completion of the sale, the Management Board and Supervisory Board will consult on the final use of the proceeds.

NORMA Group announced at the end of 2024 that it intended to sell the Water Management business unit and focus on its inherent core business. The sale is part of NORMA Group’s transformation into a focused industrial supplier, which is expected to be completed by 2028. The transformation consists of three building blocks: The growth plans in the Industry Applications business unit will be brought forward, administrative costs will be reduced and site capacities optimized. The objective of the transformation is to strengthen NORMA Group’s core business with advanced joining technology and to position the company for sustainably profitable growth.

The Water Management business unit will be classified as a “discontinued operation” with effect from September 30, 2025. Consequently, NORMA Groups updates its forecast for full-year 2025 in relation to continuing operations:

• The Management Board expects Group sales from continuing operations to be in the range of around EUR 810 million to around EUR 830 million (previously including Water Management: “of around EUR 1.1 billion to around EUR 1.2 billion”).
• For the adjusted EBIT margin from continuing operations, the Management Board anticipates a figure of around 0 percent to around 1 percent (previously including Water Management: “of around 6 percent to around 8 percent”).

NORMA Group aims to significantly increase profitability in the course of its ongoing transformation program 2025 to 2028.

Additional information on the company is available at www.normagroup.com. Press photos are available from our platform on www.normagroup.com/images.

Press Contact

Lina Bosbach

Director Group Communications

Email: Lina.Bosbach@normagroup.com

Phone: +49 6181 – 6102 7606

Jennifer Oborny

Senior Group Communications Manager

Email: Jennifer.Oborny@normagroup.com 

Phone: +49 (0)6181 – 6102 7604

Investor Contact

Sebastian Lehmann

Vice President Investor Relations & Corporate Social Responsibility

Email: Sebastian.Lehmann@normagroup.com

Phone: +49 152 34601581

About NORMA Group
NORMA Group is an international market leader in engineered and standardized joining and fluid-handling technology. With around 7,600 employees, NORMA Group supplies customers in over 100 countries with more than 40,000 product solutions. NORMA Group supports its customers and business partners in responding to global challenges such as climate change and the increasing scarcity of resources. NORMA Group’s products help reduce emissions harmful to the climate and use water more efficiently. Its innovative joining solutions are used in water supply, irrigation and drainage systems, vehicles with conventional and alternative drive systems, ships and aircraft, as well as buildings. NORMA Group generated sales of around EUR 1.2 billion in 2024. The company has a global network of 25 production sites and numerous sales offices in Europe, North, Central and South America and the Asia-Pacific region. Its headquarters are located in Maintal near Frankfurt/Main. NORMA Group SE is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in the regulated market (Prime Standard) and is a member of the SDAX.

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain future-oriented statements. Future-oriented statements include all statements which do not relate to historical facts and events and contain future-oriented expressions such as “believe,” “estimate,” “assume,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “could,” or “should” or expressions of a similar kind. Such future-oriented statements are subject to risks and uncertainties since they relate to future events and are based on the company’s current assumptions, which may not in the future take place or be fulfilled as expected. The company points out that such future-oriented statements provide no guarantee for the future and that the actual events including the financial position and profitability of NORMA Group SE and developments in the economic and regulatory fundamentals may vary substantially (particularly on the down side) from those explicitly or implicitly assumed in these statements. Even if the actual assets for NORMA Group SE, including its financial position and profitability and the economic and regulatory fundamentals, are in accordance with such future-oriented statements in this press release, no guarantee can be given that this will continue to be the case in the future.