Report: Madison Air to acquire fan maker ebm-papst

Single-source report (LTO, German legal/business trade publication, 17 August 2026): US industrial group Madison Air is acquiring German fan and drive specialist ebm-papst (Mulfingen, around EUR 2.24 billion annual revenue, over 13,000 employees) for roughly EUR 4.8 billion. Completion is expected by end of 2026, pending regulatory approvals. Update (17 August 2026): Madison Air confirmed the acquisition in its own press release on 17 August 2026, so the transaction is no longer a single-source report. It states an enterprise purchase price of $5.4bn ($5.0bn net of future tax savings), equal to 14.6x ebm-papst's forecast 2026 adjusted EBITDA of around $343m, or 10x including expected run-rate synergies. ebm-papst (founded 1963 in Mulfingen, operating in around 40 countries) is expected to generate some $2.8bn of revenue in 2026. Completion is expected around year end, subject to the required regulatory approvals (Madison Air, 17 Aug 2026).