Brady Corp. completed a private-placement debt offering totaling $800 million to back its acquisition of Honeywell International Inc.'s productivity solutions and services unit, commonly referred to as PSS. The privately sold notes were issued across three maturities spanning from five to ten years, according to people familiar with the transaction.
The largest component of the sale was a $300 million seven-year note, which priced at 1.25 percentage points above the equivalent U.S. Treasury yield. The placement carried a private investment-grade rating, and BMO Capital Markets served as arranger for the deal.
BMO had considered taking the $800 million of debt to the public investment-grade bond market but ultimately placed the funding privately. In parallel with the bond placement, BMO syndicated a $1 billion term loan to other Wall Street lenders to support the overall financing package for the acquisition.
The debt financing forms part of the consideration for Brady's April agreement to acquire Honeywell's PSS business for $1.4 billion. PSS supplies mobile computers, barcode scanners and printing solutions targeted at logistics customers and reported roughly $1.1 billion in revenue in 2025.
Market reaction to the financing and deal was modestly positive for Brady. The company's stock rose approximately 2% on the news.
Financing structure and roles
- The private-placement bonds were distributed in three tranches with maturities from five to ten years.
- The seven-year tranche, the largest at $300 million, carried a spread of 125 basis points over comparable U.S. Treasuries.
- BMO Capital Markets acted as arranger and also syndicated a separate $1 billion term loan to other lenders.
Business being acquired
PSS, the Honeywell unit being acquired, provides hardware and printing solutions for logistics applications and had about $1.1 billion of revenue in 2025. Brady agreed to pay $1.4 billion for the business.
The financing details reflect the combination of private-placement debt and syndicated bank lending used to fund the purchase. The private placement was rated at an investment-grade level, a factor that likely influenced the decision to place the notes privately rather than through a public bond sale.