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Great Star has been expanding at a rapid pace. They acquired Goldblatt back in 2010, and then they acquired Pony and Jorgensen in 2016, and Arrow Fastener in 2017.
Hangzhou Great Star Industrial acquired Shop Vac in late 2020, saving them from bankruptcy, and they recently acquired SK Hand Tool from Ideal Industries.
Earlier this year, Great Star also acquired certain assets from Joh Friedrich Behrens, a German pneumatic nailer company.
There is another company that Great Star is in the process of acquiring, and if it goes through, this will be (at least) their third in less than a year.
Great Star is in the process of acquired Geelong Holdings, a tool box manufacturer.
According to a news story by Yicai Global:
Great Star Industrial aims to become the world’s biggest storage cabinet designer and producer by buying Geelong Holdings for USD131.4 million.
Through the all-cash deal, Great Star targets at least 10 percent of the global market for storage cabinets in the next three to five years, the Hangzhou-based company said in a statement today. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval.
According to a more recent announcement (PDF), Great Star is acquiring Geelong for US$128.2 million.
Geelong Holdings was the parent company to International, a tool storage brand that closed down a few years ago.
Things are getting interesting,
What does this mean?
Right now? Nothing, as it also looks like the acquisition is still in the process of going through.
Geelong makes a lot of tool storage products for quite a few brands. Great Star manufacturers hand tools and mechanics tools, and also now owns SK Hand Tool.
Great Star also has deepening ties with Lowe’s. It will be interesting to see how everything develops over the next few years, and whether any other companies are added to their expanded portfolio of brands.
