Done deal: $3.1 billion acquisition for PGT Innovations closes

The $3.1 billion acquisition of PGT Innovations, a Venice window and door manufacturer founded in the area nearly 45 years ago, has been completed. 

The new owner is Miter Brands, a Harrisburg-based window and door manufacturer. Shares of PGT are no longer publicly traded. A statement on the deal closing from Miter doesn’t have any information on what roles PGT executives will have, if any, with Miter. In addition, no information was provided on what will happen with PGT's workforce, some 2,000 employees. PGT had revenue of $1.5 billion in 2023, up 1% from 2022 and 28.5% from 2021.

Officials with Miter, in the release, say that with PGT Innovations' “impact-resistant technology and advanced manufacturing capabilities,” the Pennsylvania-firm will be “poised to accelerate innovation, enhance product offerings and expand market reach.” 

PGT Innovations was founded in 1980. Brands in the company include Triple Diamond Glass, a wholly owned subsidiary; CGI; PGT Custom Windows and Doors; WinDor; Western Window Systems; Anlin Windows & Doors; Eze-Breeze; Eco-Window Systems; NewSouth Window Solutions; and Martin Door.

PGT has a deep history in the Sarasota business community. Entrepreneur Rod Hershberger co-founded the company and was CEO from 2005 until he retired in 2017. Jeff Jackson, who joined the company in November 2005 as vice president and CFO, replaced Hershberger as CEO. The company has expanded in Sarasota County multiple times, and through 2022 had about 2,000 employees.

The purchase took a few twists on the way to the announcement of the closing. First, late last year, another company, Tampa-based interior and exterior door manufacturer Masonite International, reached an agreement with PGT to buy the window company for $3 billion in a combination of cash and Masonite shares, according to the statement.

But before that deal could close, Miter Brands came in with a more lucrative offer. Miter’s offer was for $42 a share, up from Masonite’s offer of $41 a share. (The Masonite offer, when it was announced a week before Christmas last year, represented a premium of 56.5% over PGT’s Oct. 9 closing price of $26.20. The Miter offer, according to a January statement, was a 60% premium.) 

Miter, which traces its history, in part, to post-World War II Florida, has also made offers to buy PGT at least twice before. One came last October, when, according to Reuters, Miter offered $1.9 billion for PGT in a “fully-financed $33-per-share bid.” A second offer came in December, before Masonite, for $2.2 billion. The final price Miter paid for PGT jumped 40% from that second offer. 

Miter was formed in 2019, a combination of the merger between two separate brands: MI Windows and Doors and Milgard. (MI was founded in 1947; Milgard was founded in 1958.) That 2019 deal was completed with the aid of $350 million in financing from Koch Equity Development, an investment arm of the Koch family and its industrial businesses. Koch Equity, according to its website, owns 20% of the company, while the controlling entity remains the DeSoto family.  Matt DeSoto is the CEO of Miter Brands, which rebranded under that name in 2022, according to a statement. The acquisition, according to the most recent statement from Miter, was financed in part by an equity investment from an affiliate of Koch Equity Development LLC, an existing investor in MITER Brands.

“Our journey has always been about more than just windows and doors; it's about reframing what is possible and creating unmatched value for our team members, customers, supply partners, and local communities,” DeSoto says in a statement. “With PGT Innovations becoming part of our family of brands, we are excited to work together towards our vision of building the most valued window and door brand in America.”