3M Co. is acquiring Irvine-based car care products maker Meguiar’s Inc.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed. The deal, set to close in the fourth quarter, is likely sizable as Meguiar’s has yearly sales of more than $100 million.
San Francisco-based private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners is selling the company along with members of the Meguiar family.
Meguiar’s, a 107-year-old maker of waxes, polishes and other products for cars and boats, is set to become part of 3M’s automotive aftermarket division.
Frank Meguiar, the grandfather of current Chief Executive Barry Meguiar, started the company more than a century ago, when cars weren’t much more than a novelty.
In 1901, Frank Meguiar began making his own furniture polish. He used an eggbeater to mix the product one bottle at a time.
The surfaces on early automobiles were made of wood with finishes similar to furniture. So Meguiar adapted his polishes to cars.
A century later, the company has hundreds of products for use on cars, boats, plastics, leathers, even carpets and drapes.
