IBM will buy technology firm HRL Laboratories from Boeing and General Motors, the companies announced on Aug. 25. In other business news, TE Connectivity plans to acquire Astrodyne TDI for about $1.4 billion. In this edition of It’s Just Business, we’ve rounded up recent acquisitions and expansions. 

Agreement: Boeing and General Motors have signed a definitive agreement to sell HRL Laboratories, their 50/50 joint venture, to IBM, with financial terms undisclosed and the transactions entering regulatory review. HRL provides technologies for the automotive, aerospace and defense industries.

Boeing and GM said the sale will allow them to focus resources on their respective core businesses.

Acquisition: TE Connectivity entered an agreement in July to acquire Astrodyne TDI for approximately $1.4 billion. This will enable TE to add Astrodyne’s advanced power management and filtering solutions for mission-critical industrial applications to TE’s Industrial Solutions segment.

Acquisition: Dover Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cloeren, a manufacturer of custom-designed extrusion T-dies and feedblocks primarily used in polymer and plastics applications. Cloeren will join Dover's MAAG business unit within its Pumps & Process Solutions segment, adding extrusion technologies and engineering capabilities across polymer processing applications. 

“The addition of Cloeren’s technologies and engineering expertise expands our solutions offering and strengthens our ability to support customers with highly engineered, mission-critical equipment,” said Ueli Thuerig, president of MAAG, in a July press release.

Acquisition: T1 Energy has acquired foundational solar patents, other intellectual property and assets from Evervolt for $135 million, including rights related to TOPCon solar cells and modules. The acquisition eliminates the need for T1 to pay future royalty payments to Evervolt, and supports T1's strategy to build a silicon-based solar supply chain in the United States. The first payment was due July 28.

“Owning the intellectual property rights to leading silicon-based solar technologies is an important step to differentiate T1’s competitive position as a vertically integrated crystalline silicon U.S. solar manufacturer,” said Dan Barcelo, chairman and CEO of T1 Energy, in a press release. 

Acquisition: One Equity Partners (OEP) has agreed to acquire United WELD Holdings, the parent company of EPIC Piping and BendTec, with financial terms undisclosed. EPIC Piping, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., is a manufacturer of customized and engineered piping systems serving industrial, power, LNG, nuclear and data center end-markets. It holds more than 1 million square feet of fabrication capacity and about 2,000 employees across facilities in the United States and Middle East.

“Pipe fabrication work has shifted from being predominantly field-based to in-house due to labor advantages enabling quicker completion of projects, and EPIC has emerged as a leader with the required scale, certifications, and execution capabilities to compete for large, complex projects,” said Ante Kusurin, partner at One Equity Partners, in a July press release.