How reliant has Mott been on acquisitions in the past?

Well, generally speaking, Mott and others in this sector have a large portfolio of potential acquisitions. There are transformative opportunities and bolt-ons because many businesses are 30 to 40 years old, run by baby boomers who want to retire but have no family to take over. There's a large M&A landscape for bolt-on acquisitions across the segments we discussed. I wouldn't think of it in terms of reliance but rather opportunity. Is it reliant? No. Can it grow with what it currently has? Yes. Arguably, you'd say that Mott and IDEX need to be aligned for a year or two before considering further expansions. They need to understand each other better before investing more capital in additional acquisitions.

Moving on to more details of the acquisition process, why did Mott want to sell the business? The culture is partly employee-owned. Why did they want to sell?

One of the nuances of the business being an ESOP is that the company has an obligation to its employees. You're essentially running a pension plan alongside the business. So, if you forecast your obligations to employees and consider what else you could do with that money, like building the business or making an acquisition, you reach an impasse.