Charlesbank Capital Partners has made an investment in Trojan Battery Company, a manufacturer of deep-cycle lead acid batteries. Trojan has been owned by the Godber family since its founding in 1925.
Trojan Battery Company is a manufacturer of deep-cycle batteries. The company’s products are used to power a variety of golf, electric vehicle, aerial work platform, transportation, floor scrubber, renewable energy, and other recreational and auxiliary power applications. The company’s products are produced in manufacturing facilities in California and Georgia and are sold in more than 120 countries through Trojan’s global network of over 50 distributors, as well as over 100 direct customers, including vehicle and equipment OEMs. The company is headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, CA (www.trojanbattery.com).
The investment by Charlesbank was funded with both equity and debt and is the first outside equity ever invested in Trojan Battery. The management of Trojan has co-invested alongside Charlesbank and the Godber family maintains a significant ownership position. GE Antares Capital provided the debt portion of the financing.
“We are very pleased to partner with this talented management team to help continue to grow the business and build on the 88-year legacy of the Godber family,” said Ryan Carroll, Charlesbank Managing Director. “Trojan has a well-respected brand in the battery industry and a reputation for high quality and technology leadership. With this excellent foundation we believe the business is well-developed to grow in its existing markets as well as in newer markets such as renewable energy, transportation and back-up power.”
Charlesbank Capital Partners invests in management-led buyouts and growth capital financings, typically investing from $50 million to $150 million per transaction in companies with enterprise values of $100 million to $750 million. The firm has $2 billion of capital under management and has offices in Boston and New York (www.charlesbank.com).
Houlihan Lokey (www.hlhz.com) served as financial advisor to Trojan Battery on the transaction and Vetus Partners (www.vetuspartners.com) acted as due diligence advisor to Charlesbank.
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-2-13