Taco to Be Sold for $1.4B to London headquartered Pentair; “Significant Presence” in Cranston promised

Pentair says it will retain the Taco brand and operate the century-old company as a stand-alone business. Neither company, however, has commented on retaining Taco’s current Rhode Island workforce.

After more than a century in Rhode Island and four generations under White family ownership, Cranston-based Taco Group Holdings is poised to become part of a publicly traded global water-products company in a deal valued at approximately $1.4 billion.

Pentair announced Tuesday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Taco, the manufacturer of pumps, valves, tanks, heat exchangers and control systems used in heating, cooling, plumbing and industrial applications.

The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions.

For Rhode Island, however, perhaps the most important sentence in the lengthy Pentair announcement appeared close to the end:

“Taco will maintain a significant presence in Cranston, Rhode Island.”

What constitutes a “significant presence” was not defined.

Neither Taco nor Pentair has publicly committed to retaining all current Cranston employees, maintaining a minimum Rhode Island workforce, adding jobs or avoiding layoffs. The announcement also does not specifically promise that Cranston will remain Taco’s headquarters or that all of its current manufacturing and other operations will stay in the city.

Some reassurance—but no jobs guarantee

Pentair has offered several indications that it does not intend to immediately absorb or dismantle Taco.

The company says Taco will continue to market its products under the Taco name and will become part of Pentair’s Water Solutions segment. During an investor conference call, Pentair CEO John Stauch said Taco would be operated as a stand-alone business, with a “light touch” integration expected to take approximately three years.

Pentair also says it intends to preserve Taco’s brand, expertise and customer relationships. Those statements suggest that Taco will retain a recognizable identity within Pentair. They do not, however, constitute a commitment to its current workforce.

In its required transaction-risk disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Pentair listed its ability to “retain customers and employees of Taco” among the factors that could affect the success of the acquisition. That is standard legal language—not evidence that layoffs are planned—but it is also not an employee-retention promise. The SEC filing can be read here.

The White family – a Rhode Islander Influencer

The sale also reaches well beyond Taco’s factory and payroll. The White family—particularly longtime chairman John Hazen White Jr. and his son, Taco President Benjamin White—has been a highly visible presence in Rhode Island business, public policy and philanthropy.

John White has spoken out for decades on government and tax reform, while the White Family Foundation has supported hundreds of Rhode Island organizations, including Bradley Hospital, the Rhode Island Free Clinic, HopeHealth, PPAC, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, URI, FirstWorks and Trinity Rep. White is a Barrington resident, with the White family’s Barrington ties dating back to 1954, when his parents moved there after establishing Taco’s headquarters in Cranston.

Benjamin White serves as the foundation’s vice chairman. In many of Rhode Island’s civic and nonprofit circles, the White name may be as familiar as Taco itself—making the transaction not simply the sale of a manufacturer, but the end of a distinctly Rhode Island family-business era. The acquisition announcement does not address whether the sale will affect Taco’s connection to the foundation or its future charitable giving.

White’s civic influence has also extended into Rhode Island media. He was an original seed funder of the Hummel Report. Taco later became the longtime underwriter of A Lively Experiment on Rhode Island PBS, while its successor, Lively, is now supported by John Hazen White’s separate Lookout nonprofit. White also operates the Lookout Rhode Island podcast and previously published public-policy commentary under the Lookout name.

John Hazen White Sr., who died in 2001, had his own public-policy presence, including the “Red Alert” taxpayer-information campaign. The John Hazen White Sr. Center for Ethics and Public Service at URI is also named for the father.

How important is Taco to Rhode Island?

Taco is not one of Rhode Island’s giant hospital, university or defense employers, but it is a substantial manufacturing company—both for Cranston and for the state.

Pentair’s investor materials describe Taco as having approximately 1,200 employees and nine manufacturing facilities worldwide. It expects Taco to generate approximately $540 million in revenue during 2026, with mid-teen revenue growth and adjusted earnings margins above 20% after anticipated savings are included.

Cranston’s 2024 Comprehensive Plan listed Taco among the city’s 11 largest employers and estimated its workforce at 421. A more recent manufacturing-industry listing estimated 512 employees at the Cranston operation.

Either estimate makes Taco one of Rhode Island’s larger private employers. State Department of Labor and Training data show that, among more than 45,000 private employers in Rhode Island, only 185 had 250 or more employees as of March 2025. A Cranston workforce of more than 400 would place Taco within approximately the largest one-half of 1% of private employers in the state.

These are also skilled manufacturing, engineering, research, sales and management positions—not simply a corporate mailing address.

Taco had been hiring

The unanswered employment question is particularly notable because Taco had been describing itself as a growing company immediately before the sale announcement.

In April, Taco held an Indeed-sponsored job fair at which it interviewed applicants for assembler-tester, CNC machine-operator and material-handler positions. The company said production was increasing and that it was continuing to invest in people.

According to Taco’s account of the event, 66 applicants attended and 10 employment offers were made.

In 2023, the company also said it had invested approximately $1 million in the initial planning and feasibility work for a possible new warehouse and laboratory facility in Cranston.

Taco’s expansion has not been limited to Rhode Island. Earlier this month, it announced that staffing at its Lubbock, Texas, facility had increased 50% in seven weeks, with welders, assemblers and engineers added. Taco also said a tank-production line was being brought to Lubbock, although the company’s announcement did not identify where that work was being moved from.

Those announcements describe Taco’s business before the proposed acquisition. They do not bind Pentair after the deal closes.

What Pentair is buying

Founded in 1920 and headquartered at 1160 Cranston St., Taco has grown far beyond the residential heating circulator pumps with which many plumbers and contractors associate the company.

Its product portfolio now includes pumps, valves, tanks, heat exchangers, building controls and other water-management systems used in homes, apartment buildings, hospitals, schools, universities, industrial facilities and data centers.

Approximately 53% of Taco’s business is now commercial and industrial, while 47% is residential. Data centers account for approximately 15% of its commercial and industrial revenue. About 80% of Taco’s overall revenue comes from North America.

Taco products also have a large installed base—approximately 40 million units—which provides continuing revenue from replacement products, upgrades and maintenance.

Pentair sees opportunities to sell Taco products through its larger distribution network while giving Pentair access to Taco’s network of manufacturers’ representatives. Pentair says combining the two businesses will also allow it to cross-sell products and compete more extensively in HVAC, multifamily housing and rapidly expanding data-center markets.

“This partnership with Pentair allows us to accelerate our growth, expand our capabilities and further invest in our innovation and technology,” Taco owner and Board Chairman John Hazen White Jr. and President Benjamin White said in a joint statement.

They said the transaction would also help preserve the company’s values, expertise and customer relationships. Employees were not mentioned in the White family statement.

The $30 million question

Pentair expects to obtain approximately $30 million in annualized cost savings from the Taco acquisition over the next two to three years.

The formal announcement describes those savings as coming from “supply chain and operational efficiencies.” During the investor call, Pentair executives said they would come primarily from the larger company’s purchasing power, sourcing capabilities and economies of scale.

No layoffs or workforce reductions have been announced, and it would be inaccurate to assume that $30 million in savings automatically means job cuts. Purchasing materials at lower prices, combining contracts and using a larger distribution network can produce significant savings without reducing employment.

But “operational efficiencies” can also include consolidation of administrative functions, facilities or positions. Pentair has not said whether any portion of the projected savings will involve Taco employees or its Rhode Island operation.

The deal’s financial terms are attractive to Pentair. The $1.4 billion purchase price represents approximately 10.5 times Taco’s projected 2026 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization when approximately $165 million in expected tax benefits and the $30 million in cost savings are included.

Pentair expects the acquisition to add approximately 10 to 15 cents per share to its adjusted earnings in 2027.

Pentair is considerably larger than Taco. It reported approximately $4.2 billion in revenue in 2025 and has about 9,000 employees serving customers in more than 150 countries.

The company plans to finance the purchase with cash and bridge financing that will later be refinanced through a permanent debt offering.

Pentair is London-headquartered and maintains its main U.S. office in Minnesota. It’s “Water Solutions” division is maintained in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

This is a developing story