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Blount makes chainsaws, lawnmowers, garden trimmers, farming equipment similar products under the Oregon, Carlton and Kox brands. The company traces its roots to Oregon Saw Chain Co., founded in Portland in 1947.

(Blount photo)

The year wouldn't be complete without another deal for a big Oregon company.

Blount International said Thursday it has reached an agreement to be sold to a pair of private equity firms for $486.4 million in cash, plus nearly $370 million in assumed debt. It's the latest in a series of deals for some of Oregon's largest companies, fueled by low interest rates and a strong domestic economy.

Thursday's sale price is a whopping 86 percent higher than Blount's market value at Wednesday's market close, suggesting the buyers see substantial opportunities to improve profitability as a privately held company.

The Milwaukie manufacturing company's share price cratered this year, falling 70 percent as Blount's sales fell and the company slipped into the red. Even with the big premium, Thursday's deal price is well below where Blount was trading a year ago.

The buyers, American Securities and P2 Capital Partners, said they will retain Blount's Oregon headquarters and executive team.

Blount has nearly 4,000 employees altogether, close to 900 of them in Oregon. David Dugan, Blount's director of investor relations and corporate communications, said the company expects Thursday's deals won't affect its Oregon work force.

"We expect the Portland operations to remain the same," he said.

Blount makes chainsaws, lawnmowers, garden trimmers, farming equipment similar products under the Oregon, Carlton and Kox brands. The company traces its roots to Oregon Saw Chain Co., founded in Portland in 1947.

Renamed Omark Industries in 1957, it sold to an Alabama construction company called Blount in 1985. Blount sold its construction businesses in 1993 and sold to Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking in 1999. The company went public again in 1999 as Blount International and moved its headquarters from Alabama to Milwaukie in 2002.

Several of Oregon's best-known companies have sold this year for a total of more than $44 billion.

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Blount's sales totaled $628 million through the first nine months of 2015, down 12 percent from the same period a year earlier. Blount lost $28.2 million in that period, compared to a $39 million profit in the first nine months of 2014.

"We have a lot of our sales out of the United States, so the foreign exchange, the strong dollar, is a headwind for us," Dugan said. He said poor economies overseas has also hurt demand for the company's products, and Blount has faced sliding demand for its agricultural equipment amid a cyclical downturn in the industry.

It's early to talk about overall changes following the deal, Dugan said, but he said Blount anticipates significant savings as a privately held company.

"There's costs and resources involved with being a public company," he said.

One of the buyers, P2 Capital Partners, is already among Blount's largest shareholders. It owned more than 15 percent of the company's stock as of April.

Blount's share price leaped 84 percent Thursday on news of the pending deal to $9.90 a share. The deal gives Blount 50 days to shop for better offers: It must pay a $7.3 million breakup fee if it takes another offer during that period, and $14.7 million if the company finds a better deal after that period. Blount said it expects to close the sale in the first half of 2016.

Blount's sale follows big deals for many of Oregon's best-known businesses, including Precision Castparts, Elemental Technologies, Planar Systems, Stumptown Coffee and Dave's Killer Bread. The deals are worth more than $44 billion altogether.

By and large, the new owners are retaining or expanding their Oregon operations. The flurry of transactions reflects cheap capital, a paucity of other investment options and the relatively small size of Oregon businesses - which makes them affordable.

Update: This article has been updated with additional detail from Blount and to note that its headquarters are in the Milwaukie city limits, not Portland.

-- Mike Rogoway

mrogoway@oregonian.com

503-294-7699

@rogoway