Once a division of the Colfax conglomerate controlled by the Rales brothers - famous for their exploits at Danaher - ESAB is now a separate entity.

After a series of restructurings - the sale of Howden and the historic fluid management business, the entry into orthopaedics via the acquisition of DJO Global, etc. - the conglomerate has moved into a new phas and has split into two "pure players": ESAB in welding, and Enovis in orthopedics.

Mitchell Rales remains in the capital of the former with 6.2% of the shares, but his brother Steven has left. Both remain involved in Enovis in the same proportions as before the separation.

It should be noted that the very reputable investment firm BDT, headed by Byron Trott, ex-Goldman, often presented as "Warren Buffett's favorite banker", and a time supporter of the two brothers when Colfax acquired ESAB, is no longer among the shareholders.

Colfax's growth rate over the last decade has been disappointing, at an annualized rate of barely 3-4%, perfectly in line with its sector. This is a far cry from Danaher's meteoric growth in its early days, but it is true that the target sector is also limited - whereas Danaher operated in a completely opportunistic manner.

Similar disappointments can be found in the operating margins, which are still much lower than those of Illinois Tool Work - the reference in this area, which is taking full advantage of the company's growth.and cash flows, which have been stagnant for years due to capricious working capital management.

This limits the scope for acquisitions, even though Colfax has made three for $149 million this year, which is almost all of the $175 million cash profit.

This free cash flow, it should be noted, exceeded $200 million three years ago, pre-pandemic: even less than a stagnation of profits, it is a problematic reduction that we are witnessing.

After its separation from Envois, ESAB's balance sheet is burdened with a debt of $1.2 billion. This debt was contracted to pay a special dividend of the same amount to Enovis - we will appreciate this - and represents three years of operating profit and five years of cash profit. We will have to deal with it.

In short, those who were betting ten years ago - when Colfax bought ESAB from the British Charter - on a remake of Danaher will be disappointed. As were, incidentally, the shareholders of the other spin-offs led by the Rales brothers, Fortive and Vontier.

ESAB's share price has recovered well in recent months, with an enterprise value - market capitalization plus net debt - of $5 billion, now equivalent to x25 earnings, a multiple in the high range of the historical valuation.

Notwithstanding the series of disappointments, the situation would potentially deserve to be revisited at less than $40 per share. Mitchell Rales had actually acquired half a million shares at this price in November 2022.