High Road Capital Partners has completed the acquisition of General Tools & Instruments, a designer and developer of precision specialty hand tools.
“General Tools & Instruments has a solid position as a leading provider of specialty hand tools and instruments across multiple industries, with a product portfolio of more than 1,500 SKUs,” said Jeff Goodrich, High Road Partner. “Its strengths include an exceptional product development capability through which the company introduces new and innovative tools annually and provides professional-grade products to consumer markets.”
General Tools & Instruments (GTI) is a designer and developer of specialty hand tools and handheld test instruments for consumers and professionals. GTI’s products are sold through big-box and specialty retailers including Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sears, Ace Hardware and True Value Hardware stores, and through industrial distributors such as Grainger, MSC Industrial Supply and McMaster-Carr. The company was founded in 1922 by Abe and Lillian Rosenberg and is headquartered in New York City (www.generaltools.com).
“General Tools & Instruments is a third-generation, family-run company with an enviable customer base, a trusted brand name and high-quality products. Together with its outstanding management team, we plan to pursue both organic growth initiatives and add-on acquisitions,” said Mr. Goodrich.
Joe Ennis, Chief Executive Officer of GTI will continue to lead the company post-closing. He and the other members of the company’s management team invested in the transaction alongside High Road.
U.S. Bank (www.usbank.com) provided senior debt financing for the transaction. Babson Capital Management (www.BabsonCapital.com) provided subordinated debt and also invested equity alongside High Road. Cowen and Company (www.cowen.com) advised General Tools & Instruments.
The acquisition of GTI is High Road’s third platform company through its second fund, High Road Capital Partners Fund II, LP, which had a final close above target in December 2013 with $320 million in total commitments.
Jeff Goodrich, Partner and Dan Gaspar, Principal led the transaction for High Road. Also working on the transaction from High Road were Jerry Anderson, Partner, and Eugene Kolodin, Associate.
High Road Capital Partners invests in manufacturing, service, or value-added distribution businesses with revenues of $10 million to $100 million and EBITDAs of $3 million to $10 million. The firm was formed in 2007 and currently manages over $470 million of committed capital. High Road has completed 29 transactions, comprising 27 acquisitions – 12 platform investments, 15 add-on acquisitions – and two exits since its founding in 2007. High Road is based in New York (www.highroadcap.com).
© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-7-14