Archives for July 1, 2013

Trilantic Invests in Traeger Pellet Grills

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Trilantic Capital Partners has acquired a substantial minority interest in Traeger Pellet Grills, a designer, manufacturer and marketer of wood pellet grills.

“Traeger management has developed a very strong product offering and a loyal following,” said Charlie Moore, a partner at Trilantic. “We look forward to helping the company execute on key growth initiatives going forward, including expanding its management team.”

Traeger Pellet Grills is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of wood pellet grills, wood pellets, sauces & spices, and grilling accessories. The company sells its products through a dealer network, online and through a direct sales force at selected retailers, trade shows, fairs, rodeos, and other outdoor events. In 2012, the company began the rollout of Traeger-branded stores in major shopping malls across the country. Traeger operates three wood pellet mills in Oregon, Georgia and Iowa; warehouse and logistics locations in Oregon, Colorado and Tennessee; and a facility in Utah where it recruits and trains it sales force. The company also has a team in China dedicated to manufacturing quality and supply chain management. Traeger was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Wilsonville, OR (www.traegergrills.com).

“Trilantic’s track record of working successfully with entrepreneurs was extremely attractive to the company. We look forward to partnering with Trilantic to take Traeger through the next chapter of its development,” said Keith Barish, Chairman of Traeger.

Trilantic Capital Partners makes control and significant minority investments in North America and European companies. Sectors of interests include consumer, energy, financial and business services. Trilantic was formed in 2009 by the former principals of Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking. Trilantic currently manages two institutional private equity funds with an aggregate capital commitment of $5.6 billion. The firm is based in New York (www.trilantic.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-1-13

Thoma Bravo Acquires Intuit’s Financial Services Business

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Thoma Bravo has entered into an agreement acquire the Financial Services division (IFS) of Intuit for $1.025 billion in cash. Certain assets that are currently included in the IFS division, including OFX connectivity and Mint.com, will remain with Intuit. The transaction is expected to close in the next few months.

“Thoma Bravo’s acquisition of IFS is consistent with our strategy of buying great technology franchises with significant recurring revenue,” said Orlando Bravo, managing partner at Thoma Bravo. “We look forward to accelerating the company’s growth as an independent business through our buy-and-build principles.”

The transaction will result in a stand-alone company focused on providing a digital banking platform and mobile services to banks and credit unions. The transaction includes an Internet banking platform, digital payments, mobile banking, Purchase Rewards, FinanceWorks, and digital banking add-on solutions as well as third-party solutions. In fiscal 2012, IFS (excluding Mint and OFX) had revenue of approximately $305 million. In fiscal 2013, IFS is expected to have revenue of approximately $325 million. IFS is based in Westlake Village, CA and has 730 employees in several offices in the United States and India (www.ifs.intuit.com).

“IFS is the premier provider of online and mobile banking software to financial institutions, markets which should continue to see secular growth and further end-user adoption,” said Holden Spaht, partner at Thoma Bravo. ”Thoma Bravo will continue to support the company’s mission of providing best-in-class products to support its large base of customers and end users.”

Thoma Bravo provides equity and strategic support to management teams building growing companies. The firm originated the concept of industry consolidation investing, which seeks to create value through the strategic use of acquisitions to accelerate business growth. Thoma Bravo currently manages approximately $4 billion of equity capital. The firm was founded in 1981 and has offices in Chicago and San Francisco (www.thomabravo.com).

Intuit is a provider of business and financial management services for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Its products and services include QuickBooks, Quicken and TurboTax and are used to for small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $4.15 billion in its fiscal year 2012. The company has approximately 8,000 employees with offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations (www.intuit.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-1-13

Sun Capital Partners Exits American Standard

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LIXIL Corporation has completed the acquisition of ASD Americas Holding Corp., the parent company of American Standard Brands, a manufacturer of kitchen and bath products and a portfolio company of Sun Capital Partners, at an enterprise value of $542 million.

American Standard is a North American manufacturer of bath and kitchen products including bathroom and kitchen faucets, fixtures, and furniture. The company’s products are sold through wholesalers, do-it-yourself big box centers, and specialty merchants and are used in both the residential and commercial markets as well as in new construction and replacement/remodeling. The company markets its products under the brand names of American Standard, Jado, Porcher, Safety Tubs, Crane Plumbing, Eljer, Fiat and Decorative Panels International. American Standard employs more than 5,000 people and is based in Piscataway, NJ (www.americanstandard-us.com).

Sun Capital Partners first invested in American Standard Brands in December 2007. “The market leadership that American Standard enjoys today has been fueled by considerable operational improvements, an expanded product platform achieved through four strategic acquisitions, and a commitment to innovation,” said Marc Leder, Co-CEO at Sun Capital. “I expect LIXIL will continue to invest in these strategies, and that the combined technology and product development capabilities of American Standard and LIXIL will ensure significant progress in the years ahead.”

LIXIL is Japan’s largest manufacturer of building materials and housing equipment and has more than 75,000 employees worldwide. The company is based in Tokyo (global.lixil.co.jp).

“American Standard is the leader in the kitchen and bath products market with a deep history of more than 130 years. American Standard will serve as a key platform for LIXIL as we continue to fulfill our ambitions to become a worldwide leader in the building materials and housing equipment market. LIXIL already owns the American Standard brand in the Asia Pacific market, and this transaction will strengthen the brand and the company’s considerable manufacturing capabilities and technological best practices,” said Yoshiaki Fujimori, President of LIXIL Corporation.

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 8-21-13

Clearlake Capital Acquires Archer’s North American Rental and Tubular Division

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Clearlake Capital Group has completed its acquisition of the North American Rental and Tubular Services divisions of Archer Limited, through a newly- formed company, IronGate Energy Services. Terry Keane, previously President of the Rental and Tubular divisions, will serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of IronGate.

IronGate is a provider of rental and tubular services to oil and natural gas exploration and production operators in North America. The company’s Rental Services division provides drill string components, such as drill pipe and other related drilling equipment, to both onshore and offshore oil and natural gas operators, and also provides surface pressure control equipment. The Tubular Services division provides casing running and related services for oil and natural gas wells throughout various stages of onshore and offshore drilling. The company is headquartered in Houston (no website found).

“We are excited to partner with the management team and enable IronGate’s growth as a highly focused, newly independent company,” said José Feliciano, a founding partner at Clearlake. “We look forward to supporting the company as it makes strategic investments in order to meet customers’ needs, including expanding in new and existing geographies. We believe that IronGate is an excellent platform for future acquisitions and is well-positioned to capitalize on the growth of the North American oil and gas market.”

Clearlake invests in special situations such as corporate divestitures, recapitalizations, buyouts, restructurings, turnarounds and minority equity investments. Sectors of interest include business services; communication; consumer products and retail; defense and public safety; energy and power; healthcare; industrials; media; and technology. Clearlake was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in New York (www.clearlakecapital.com).

“As a newly independent company, IronGate will continue a long tradition of excellent customer service, safety and compliance while offering high quality equipment for rental and premium tubular services,” said Mr. Keane. “Clearlake’s operational and financial resources will provide us with the support to build our business and continue to focus on our customers’ success.”

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-1-13

Blue Wolf Capital Acquires Suwannee Lumber

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Blue Wolf Capital Partners has acquired substantially all of the assets of Suwannee Lumber Co., a manufacturer of softwood lumber. The company’s CEO, Frank “Bump” Faircloth, and President, Daniel Dickert, invested alongside Blue Wolf and will remain with the company as will others on the management team. Blue Wolf made the investment in Suwannee Lumber through Blue Wolf Capital Fund III, LP.

Suwannee Lumber is a manufacturer of softwood lumber producing Southern Yellow Pine products used primarily in decking and durable outdoor construction. Suwannee operates a 150 million board foot sawmill operation and supplies decking and dimensional lumber to customers in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast United States. Suwannee also operates a ground cover division that provides manufacturing and bagging of various mulch and soil products as well as a retail hardware store (Florida Forest Products) and firewood operation (Lite My Fire). The company was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Cross City, FL, with additional operations in Lake City, FL and Adel, GA (www.suwanneelumber.com).

“Strong regional players like Suwannee with solid business models that can also benefit from strategic operational improvements are ideal investments for Blue Wolf. Suwannee is well-positioned in an industry that is showing many positive trends – we are looking forward to working with Bump and his team to build upon the company’s success,” said Adam Blumenthal, Managing Partner at Blue Wolf.

Blue Wolf invests in companies in which effective management of relationships with complex constituencies, such as government and labor, can change organizations and create value. The firm’s investment criteria are minimum revenues of $25 million; minimum transaction size of $20 million; and a minimum investment size of $10 million. Blue Wolf focuses its efforts on companies based in and doing the bulk of their business in the United States and Canada. The firm is headquartered in New York (www.blue-wolf.com).

“We are excited by the opportunity to partner with Blue Wolf. Their operating experience and vision will be invaluable as we continue to modernize our operations and increase capacity in order to take advantage of the rebounding housing construction and remodeling markets,” said Mr. Faircloth.

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-1-13

Wynnchurch Buys Detroit Tool, Launches Metal Roll-Up

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Wynnchurch Capital has acquired Detroit Tool Metal Products in partnership with a management team led by Chief Executive Officer Terry Wogan. This is the first in a series of planned investments by Wynnchurch in the metal fabrication sector. The firm’s goal is to build one of the largest Tier-1 fabrication businesses in North America.

Joining Mr. Wogan’s executive group is Dani Goldsmith (Chief Operating & Financial Officer), Marty Kozarec (Vice President of Sales) and Don Miller (Vice President of Engineering). This group of executives are long-time colleagues that have developed a model that delivers automotive quality and delivery to the standard tool metal fabrication space.

“We are excited to partner with this experienced group of managers and support the rollout of their proven operating model. We are confident that together we can create a true leader in the metal fabrication space,” said John Hatherly, Founding Partner of Wynnchurch.

Detroit Tool is a manufacturer of precision metal stampings, fabricated components and value-added assemblies for the heavy truck, construction, industrial, and agricultural end-markets. The company was founded in 1947 and is based in Lebanon, MO (www.dtmp.com).

Wynnchurch and Mr. Wogan intend to leverage the team’s operating track record to make strategic acquisitions and build a fabrication platform the “likes of which does not currently exist in a space dominated by smaller operators”. “Detroit Tool is the perfect asset to serve as the cornerstone of our platform”, said Mr. Wogan. “The company serves industry leaders in the heavy truck, agriculture and construction sectors from its centralized location in Missouri and has process capabilities spanning medium to heavy fabrication as well as stamping.”

Senior debt financing for this transaction was provided by Bank of the West. Bank of Montreal provided mezzanine financing and an equity co-investment.

Wynnchurch Capital makes investments of $10 million to $90 million in middle-market companies that have revenues of $5 million to $500 million. Sectors of interest include niche manufacturing, transportation & logistics, business services, value-added distribution, energy and power services, general industrials, and metals & mining. Wynnchurch Capital is located in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont with additional offices in Dallas, Detroit, and Toronto (www.wynnchurch.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-1-13