WASHINGTON — On March 25, Ingersoll Rand revealed a plan to buy ILC Dover, a company well recognized in the space field for its contributions to spacesuits and expandable modules.
Ingersoll Rand stated it will buy ILC Dover from New Mountain Capital, a private equity firm, for $2.325 billion in cash. The purchase price could rise by $75 million based on the company’s 2024 performance. The transaction is projected to be finalized in the second quarter.
Although ILC Dover primarily operates in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, it also has a division focused on aerospace, particularly known for developing spacesuits since the Apollo program.
During a nearly hour-long conference call about the deal, the aerospace business was briefly mentioned. Vicente Reynal, Ingersoll Rand's chief executive and chairman, mentioned, “ILC Dover is giving us the optionality to access the fast-growing market in aerospace,” and highlighted ILC Dover's unique accomplishment of creating a spacesuit that safely facilitated a moon landing.
Reynal emphasized ILC Dover's strong connections with NASA and space companies and expressed confidence in the rapid growth of the space and aerospace market, both commercially and governmentally. He also indicated that the deal would allow Ingersoll Rand to reach new customers for its other products, such as pumps.
During the call, executives from both companies provided limited additional details about the aerospace business and did not discuss how the deal might impact ILC Dover’s current projects.
ILC Dover is part of a team chosen by NASA in June 2022, led by Collins Aerospace, along with Axiom Space, to develop spacesuits for the Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services program. The team is presently working on a suit intended to replace the aging Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuits used for spacewalks outside the International Space Station., along with Axiom Space, to develop spacesuits for the Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services program. The team is currently developing a suit to replace the aging Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuits used for spacewalks outside the International Space Station.
ILC Dover is also collaborating with Sierra Space on the Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) modules, which are inflatable habitats designed for use in future commercial space stations., inflatable habitats intended for use on future commercial space stations. Sierra Space has been testing versions of the LIFE module, including a burst test of a full-sized version of the module announced in January, to validate the performance of a restraining layer developed in partnership with ILC Dover. When the partnership was announced last year, the companies stated they would also cooperate on future spacesuit designs.
In addition to its spacesuit and module work, the company has created airbags for spacecraft landings. Variations of these airbags were utilized in the landings of the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Exploration Rover and are integrated into the landing system for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle.
