IEP Technologies and Newson Gale acquired by KKR

KKR agreed on 22 October 2026 to acquire IEP Technologies and Newson Gale from HOERBIGER, the Swiss industrial group, in a carve-out of most of its Safety Business Unit. The investment was made through KKR Global Impact Fund II, which closed in November 2023 with 2.8 billion dollars of commitments. Completion was expected in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. HOERBIGER’s Engine & Generators activity, which makes explosion relief valves, was excluded and moved into its Compression division. The two businesses address the same hazard from opposite ends. Any process handling flour, sugar, wood dust, powdered metal or solvent vapour can ignite: a spark in a confined vessel raises pressure faster than the structure can withstand, and the blast travels through ducts to the next machine. Newson Gale prevents the spark, earthing tankers and containers so static cannot discharge during transfer. IEP Technologies contains what follows, venting the pressure, sealing the ducts and flooding the vessel with suppressant within milliseconds of the first pressure rise. IEP reports that its systems suppress two to four explosions a month. Demand follows safety codes rather than industrial investment. Plants handling combustible dust are required to assess and control the risk, and insurers and regulators enforce it, which makes the spending non-discretionary and the installed base a source of recurring service revenue. Battery energy storage has added a new category of risk, with its own standards still forming. IEP traces back to the 1950s and British fire protection work, and was assembled as a company in July 2013 when Sentinel Capital Partners bought four explosion protection businesses from United Technologies in the United States, Britain, Germany and Switzerland. Sentinel sold it to HOERBIGER in September 2015. Randy Davis has led it since its formation and also heads HOERBIGER’s safety unit.

The acquisition of IEP Technologies and Newson Gale is part of the growth strategy of KKR, which already has several external growth operations under its belt, notably Integer in 2026.