Victory Park Capital has provided a senior credit facility through its SBIC fund to help finance the acquisition of O. Keller Tool Engineering Company by Chicago-based private equity group, K.R. Abraham & Co. (KRA).
Victory Park Capital (VPC) received final agency committee approval by the U.S. Small Business Administration for its SBIC license last month. In addition to the credit facility, VPC’s SBIC fund also co-invested in the equity of O. Keller.
“VPC was extremely flexible when structuring their credit facility for the O. Keller transaction. In hindsight, the deal was changing almost weekly due to better-than-expected financial performance right up until we actually closed. We are very pleased that VPC was able to bring a financial solution to the table that ultimately allowed us to acquire such a great business. We look forward to partnering with them again in the future,” said K. Robin Abraham, President of KRA.
O. Keller is a niche designer and manufacturer of highly-engineered tools, specialty gages, assembly line tools, and fixtures for Fortune 500 OEMs and tier one automotive suppliers. The company was founded in 1943 and is headquartered in Livonia, MI (www.okeller.com).
“Working in tandem with KRA, we believe we have the operational expertise necessary to continue to position O. Keller for strong financial performance,” said Tom Affolter, a VPC Principal. “We have great confidence that Brian Van Norman, President of O. Keller, and KRA are the right partners to lead the company through its next phase of growth.”
Victory Park invests from$10 million to $50 million per transaction in small cap public companies and middle market private companies that typically generate less than $150 million in revenue and $30 million of EBITDA. The firm focuses on complex situations and seeks to build long term sustainable value in its companies. Victory Park is based in Chicago and has offices in New York, Boston, and San Francisco (www.victoryparkcapital.com).
K.R. Abraham & Co. seeks to acquire lower middle-market companies with EBITDAs of $1.5 million to $5 million across a range of industries. The firm is based in Chicago (www.krabraham.com).
© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-7-12
