Metalico acquires Ohio recycler.

Cranford, N.J.-based Metalico Inc. has entered into an agreement to purchase substantially all of the operating assets (other than real property interests) of Niles Iron & Metal Company Inc., a scrap metal recycling company in Niles, Ohio.

Metalico is a scrap metal recycler and lead products fabricator with four scrap recycling operations located in western New York State.

The Clayman family has owned and operated Niles Iron & Metal since 1917. In 2005, the company sold roughly 226,500 tons of scrap, approximately 91 percent of which was ferrous material.

Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement, Metalico will enter into long-term leases for Niles Iron & Metal's two operating sites in Niles (in Northeastern Ohio), and will retain the services of the company's senior management.

The purchase price for the acquisition is nearly $44 million, subject to additional closing adjustments to the extent that working capital is less than or greater than $6.5 million. The sale is expected to be financed through a debt facility to be entered into at the closing of the transaction, according to a press release from Metalico.