Atmus Filtration Technologies Completes $450 Million Acquisition of Koch Filter Corporation

Perfect! I've created three data visualizations to enhance the analysis. Here's the updated article with the charts and tables integrated:

The industrial filtration sector witnessed a significant transaction this week as Atmus Filtration Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATMU) completed its acquisition of Koch Filter Corporation from Air Distribution Technologies, Inc., marking a strategic milestone for both buyer and seller. The $450 million deal, which closed in early January 2026, represents a carefully orchestrated exit for Los Angeles-based private equity firm Truelink Capital while simultaneously establishing Atmus's entry into the high-growth industrial air filtration market.

The transaction's completion comes roughly 18 months after Truelink Capital carved out Air Distribution Technologies from Johnson Controls in mid-2024, demonstrating the firm's ability to execute a swift value-creation strategy through portfolio optimization. In a parallel announcement, Truelink named Azam Owaisi as CEO of Air Distribution Technologies, signaling the firm's continued commitment to its remaining HVAC platform.

The deal structure reflects a straightforward strategic acquisition, with Atmus deploying $450 million in cash to acquire Koch Filter from Truelink Capital's Air Distribution Technologies portfolio. The transaction moved swiftly from announcement in November 2025 to close in January 2026—a timeline of approximately six weeks that suggests minimal regulatory complexity and strong strategic alignment between parties.

For Atmus Filtration Technologies, a global leader in filtration and media solutions that emerged as a Cummins spinoff, the Koch Filter acquisition represents a calculated expansion into adjacent markets with compelling growth trajectories. The acquisition establishes Atmus's industrial air filtration platform and expands its portfolio into high-growth end-markets, including commercial and industrial HVAC, data centers and power generation markets.

Steph Disher, Chief Executive Officer of Atmus Filtration Technologies, articulated the strategic logic behind the move: "The acquisition of Koch Filter will accelerate Atmus' growth by expanding into the industrial air filtration market, including the growing industrial and commercial HVAC, data center and power generation end-markets". This statement underscores Atmus's recognition that the industrial air filtration sector—particularly segments tied to data center infrastructure and power generation—offers substantial growth potential as digital transformation and energy transition accelerate globally.

The timing of this acquisition is particularly noteworthy. As hyperscale data centers proliferate to support artificial intelligence workloads and cloud computing demands, the need for sophisticated air filtration systems has intensified. These facilities require precise environmental controls to maintain optimal operating conditions for sensitive computing equipment, creating a robust and expanding market for specialized filtration solutions. Similarly, the power generation sector's ongoing transformation—incorporating both traditional and renewable energy sources—demands advanced filtration technologies to ensure operational efficiency and regulatory compliance.

Koch Filter's positioning across these three distinct end-markets provides Atmus with diversified exposure to multiple growth drivers. The data center segment represents perhaps the most compelling opportunity, driven by exponential growth in computing infrastructure to support AI, cloud services, and digital transformation initiatives. Commercial and industrial HVAC offers stable, recurring demand tied to building modernization and indoor air quality standards. Power generation exposure positions the combined entity to benefit from the ongoing energy transition and infrastructure investments.

Koch Filter Corporation, founded in 1966 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, has established itself as a manufacturer of essential air filtration solutions serving multiple industrial end-markets. The company's product portfolio addresses critical applications across commercial and industrial HVAC systems, data center infrastructure, and power generation facilities—sectors characterized by stringent performance requirements and regulatory standards.

As a leading provider of air filtration solutions and a subsidiary of Air Distribution Technologies, Inc., Koch Filter operated within a broader platform of air management businesses under Truelink Capital's ownership. This positioning allowed the company to benefit from shared resources and strategic direction while maintaining its specialized focus on filtration technologies.

The company's nearly six-decade operating history suggests deep technical expertise and established customer relationships within its target markets. Koch Filter's comprehensive product range includes medium and high efficiency filters, HEPA filters, disposable commercial and industrial filters, automatic roll filters, pocket filters, pleated filters, carbon and gas phase filters, serving applications from residential to commercial and industrial applications, as well as specialty environments.

For industrial filtration applications, such longevity typically translates to proven product reliability, extensive application knowledge, and the engineering capabilities necessary to address complex customer requirements—attributes that likely factored significantly into Atmus's acquisition calculus.

The Koch Filter transaction exemplifies Truelink Capital's operational approach to value creation through strategic carve-outs and portfolio optimization. The Los Angeles-based firm, which describes itself as focused on growth and long-term value creation, executed a multi-phase strategy that began with acquiring Air Distribution Technologies from Johnson Controls in June 2024.

That initial carve-out from Johnson Controls brought together a portfolio of air management and filtration businesses that had operated under the industrial conglomerate's Global Products segment. Todd Golditch, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Truelink Capital, noted at the time of that acquisition: "Air Distribution Technologies has been a leading player in the commercial HVAC space for over 75 years", highlighting the platform's established market position.

Following the Air Distribution Technologies acquisition, Truelink appears to have pursued a focused strategy of portfolio rationalization—identifying Koch Filter as a distinct business unit that could command premium valuation from a strategic buyer while allowing the remaining Air Distribution Technologies platform to concentrate on its core competencies. This approach reflects sophisticated private equity portfolio management, where firms actively reshape their holdings to maximize value rather than simply holding assets for predetermined time periods.

The $450 million exit for Koch Filter—achieved within approximately 19 months of the broader platform acquisition—suggests Truelink successfully identified and capitalized on strategic buyer interest in the industrial filtration space. While the financial returns on this specific carve-out haven't been disclosed, the transaction's swift execution indicates favorable market conditions and effective positioning of the asset.

With Koch Filter's divestiture complete, Truelink and Air Distribution Technologies will focus on the core ADTi platform by driving efficiencies and growth, both organically and via M&A, across the three key business units: Air Control Solutions, Air Movement Solutions, and Air Distribution Solutions. This strategic focus suggests Truelink views the remaining Air Distribution Technologies businesses as a cohesive platform with distinct growth opportunities separate from Koch Filter's industrial filtration focus.

The appointment of Azam Owaisi as CEO of Air Distribution Technologies signals Truelink's intention to pursue an aggressive growth strategy for the remaining platform. While details about Owaisi's background weren't disclosed in the announcement, CEO transitions at this juncture typically indicate preparation for the next phase of value creation—whether through operational improvements, add-on acquisitions, or positioning for an eventual exit.

For Atmus, the integration of Koch Filter into its existing operations presents both opportunities and execution challenges. The company's forward-looking statements reference expectations around Koch Filter's financial performance, anticipated cost synergies, and estimated tax benefits—standard considerations in strategic acquisitions but ones that will require disciplined integration management to realize fully.

The Koch Filter acquisition unfolds against a backdrop of favorable market dynamics in industrial air filtration. Several secular trends are driving demand across the target end-markets that Koch Filter serves:

Data Center Expansion: The explosive growth in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud computing has triggered unprecedented data center construction globally. These facilities require sophisticated environmental control systems, including advanced air filtration, to maintain the precise temperature and air quality conditions necessary for optimal equipment performance and longevity.

Industrial HVAC Modernization: Commercial and industrial facilities face increasing pressure to upgrade HVAC systems for energy efficiency and indoor air quality—considerations amplified by post-pandemic awareness of airborne contaminants and ventilation standards. This modernization cycle creates sustained demand for advanced filtration solutions.

Power Generation Evolution: The energy sector's transformation, incorporating both traditional generation assets and renewable energy infrastructure, requires reliable filtration systems to protect equipment and ensure operational efficiency. As power generation capacity expands to meet electrification demands, filtration system requirements grow proportionally.

Regulatory Environment: Evolving air quality regulations and environmental standards continue to raise the bar for filtration performance across industrial applications, potentially driving replacement cycles and technology upgrades that benefit established manufacturers like Koch Filter.

These market dynamics help explain why Atmus was willing to deploy $450 million to establish its industrial air filtration platform. The company evidently views these growth drivers as durable and the market opportunity as substantial enough to justify significant capital allocation.

While specific financial metrics for Koch Filter weren't disclosed in the transaction announcements, the $450 million purchase price provides some indication of the asset's scale and profitability profile. For context, such valuations in the industrial manufacturing sector typically reflect multiples of EBITDA ranging from 8x to 12x for businesses with strong market positions and growth prospects, suggesting Koch Filter likely generates annual EBITDA in the range of $35-55 million—though this remains speculative without confirmed financials.

For Atmus, which trades publicly on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ATMU, the acquisition represents a meaningful deployment of capital that investors will scrutinize for its impact on growth rates and profitability. The company's references to expected cost synergies and tax benefits suggest management has identified specific value-creation levers beyond Koch Filter's standalone performance.

The transaction also reflects Atmus's strategic positioning as it establishes independence from its Cummins heritage. As a spinoff of Cummins that makes products for on-highway commercial vehicles and off-highway agriculture, Atmus has been working to diversify its end-market exposure and establish a distinct identity in the broader filtration industry. The Koch Filter acquisition advances this objective by adding industrial and commercial exposure to complement Atmus's traditional transportation-focused business.

The Koch Filter transaction encapsulates several notable trends in today's M&A landscape. For strategic buyers like Atmus, acquisitions offer a path to rapidly establish positions in adjacent markets with favorable growth characteristics—often more efficiently than organic expansion. For private equity firms like Truelink Capital, sophisticated portfolio management—including strategic carve-outs and selective divestitures—can accelerate value creation and generate attractive returns even within relatively compressed holding periods.

As both companies move forward with their respective strategies, the transaction's success will ultimately be measured by Atmus's ability to integrate Koch Filter effectively and capture the anticipated synergies, and by Truelink's capacity to drive continued growth at the remaining Air Distribution Technologies platform. The industrial filtration sector's favorable fundamentals suggest both parties have positioned themselves to capitalize on sustained market demand, though execution will determine whether this deal delivers on its strategic promise.