By Lauren Thomas

The former leader of industrials conglomerate Honeywell International is going on a shopping spree in a bid to create Honeywell 2.0.

A firm backed by David Cote is set to acquire Husky Technologies, a provider of injection-molding equipment, from Platinum Equity for roughly $5 billion including debt.

The details

Cote's company, CompoSecure, unveiled the deal Monday, the people said, confirming an earlier report by The Wall Street Journal.

Last fall, Cote and former Goldman Sachs banker Tom Knott acquired a majority stake in CompoSecure as their next act, with the plan to use the entity as a platform for future deals. The maker of metal credit cards has a market value of over $2 billion.

The Husky deal is set to be partially financed with a roughly $2 billion so-called PIPE, or private investment in public equity, that is expected to be offered at $18.50 per share of CompoSecure common stock.

Cote's family office already has around $1.1 billion invested in CompoSecure that will be rolled into the deal, and Platinum will roll over about $1 billion to keep a little less than a 20% stake in the combined business.

The context

Husky was founded in 1953. Its machinery is used to create a variety of plastic products, including medical devices and beverage containers. Platinum bought Husky from Berkshire Partners and Omers Private Equity for around $4 billion in 2018.

It is likely the first of many deals for Cote and Knott, who see a chance to combine private-equity-backed companies to create a new industrials conglomerate.

"We can start with businesses that we want that don't have all the legacy liabilities," Cote told the Journal in an interview, describing the vision as a "new Honeywell."

Knott said they see an opportunity to buy private-equity-owned businesses that may not be as attractive in the public market today, when those firms are looking for an exit. "We think our platform solves a problem for sponsors," he said.

In February, the duo spun off a publicly traded business called Resolute Holdings from CompoSecure. Resolute oversees CompoSecure's operations and capital allocation, and helps look for deal opportunities. Knott is CEO of Resolute, and Cote is executive chairman.

Cote, Honeywell's chief from 2002 to 2017, is known for leading a turnaround of the company, which is now in the midst of breaking itself up.

In 2019, Cote teamed up with Goldman to acquire Vertiv Holdings from Platinum and take it public. Cote is still executive chairman of Vertiv, which provides equipment for data centers and has a market value above $70 billion.

Write to Lauren Thomas at lauren.thomas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 03, 2025 05:25 ET (10:25 GMT)

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