Redmond-based BasX Solutions, a manufacturer of data center cooling and HVAC equipment, has been acquired by Aaon Inc., a publicly traded company firm based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for $180 million.

This is the third merger and acquisition of a Redmond company to occur in the past few years. There was Medisiss, which was acquired by Medline ReNewal in 2012, Central Oregon Trucking that was acquired in 2013 by Daseke and Consumer Cellular that was acquired in 2020 by GTCR, a private equity firm.

The acquisition puts Central Oregon on the map as a place where businesses can start and scale and grow, said Jon Stark, Redmond Economic Development Inc. senior director.

“A merger like this will add horsepower to their operations and sales side by opening up markets for them,” Stark said. “It’s good for the community. We’re seeing more of this and it is a testament of the strength and health of these companies, a testament that an Oregon company can start and scale and grow here.”

Under the terms of the deal, Aaon (NASDAQ: AAON) will pay $100 million upfront and $80 million of additional payments through 2023. An additional $22 million will be paid to the co-founders Matt Tobolski and Dave Benson for the real estate, all funded through revolving credit and equity, according to Aaon’s public statement on Friday.

The purchase will be complete by the end of the year.

“The company (BasX) has experienced robust growth with a five years’ sales compounded annual growth rate of 45%,” Aaon CEO and President Greg Fields told shareholders on Friday. “They are projected to generate $70 million in sales by the end of 2021.”

At BasX LLC, all 260 employees working out of the 200,000 square-foot Redmond facility will remain with the new company, as will the manufacturing operations of the company, Tobolski said. BasX was founded in 2012 but operations ramped up in 2014, Tobolski said.

“We have a long history with Aaon,”Tobolski said Friday. “We’ve made strategic moves and investments over the years and we’ve kept in touch. We didn’t go out there trying to sell BasX.

“We’ll continue to do business as we had before, but now we’ll have additional leverage from Aaon. We’re committed to this location.”

In a meeting with investors on Friday morning, Fields, said the merger will enable growth and support for both companies. Neither company compete for the same kind of equipment cooling business. BasX is known for its data center cooling systems, which contributes to about half the business.

Aaon said it anticipates revenue and cost synergies to result from the merger.