Olympus Partners has acquired Innovative XCessories & Services (IXS), a provider of upfit services and accessories to the automotive aftermarket and original equipment manufacturers, from Graham Partners which first invested in the company in August 2005.
IXS’ aftermarket division, operating under the brand Line-X, provides protective coatings for pick-up truck beds, with 465 franchise locations in the US and Canada and licensees in over 50 countries. Its OEM division, operating as Ground Effects, provides protective coatings for pick-up truck beds as well as a range of other upfit services and exterior accessories to automotive manufacturers through a network of 15 co-located facilities across North America. IXS has offices in Huntsville, AL; Winsor, ON; and Strasburg, OH (www.ixsllc.com).
“IXS combines a strong consumer brand with an unmatched service model built over 30 years of partnership with the auto manufacturers. It is ideally positioned to benefit from the market’s increasing demand for premium options and customization, as well as the exciting growth in pick-up trucks,” said Jason Miller, Principal at Olympus. “We see considerable opportunity to expand the product and service offering and continue to build this platform globally. We look forward to working with CEO Kevin Heronimus, President Jim Scott and the rest of the IXS management team.”
Olympus Partners, with $5 billion of capital under management, provides equity capital for middle market management buyouts and for companies needing capital for expansion. Sectors of interest include consumer products, healthcare, financial services and business services. The firm was founded in 1988 and is based in Stamford, CT (www.olympuspartners.com). The acquisition of IXS is Olympus’ second investment out of its sixth fund. The Olympus team included Jim Conroy, Jason Miller, Robby Polakoff, and Taylor Rhyne.
Graham Partners seeks to acquire companies with EBITDA between $5 million and $50 million, and will invest in smaller companies as add-on acquisitions to existing portfolio companies. The firm is sponsored by the Graham Group, an industrial and investment concern with interests in plastics, packaging, machinery, building products and outsourced manufacturing. Graham Partners was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Philadelphia (www.grahampartners.net).
Harris Williams & Co. acted as the exclusive advisor to IXS. The transaction was jointly led by John Neuner and Corey Benjamin from Harris Williams & Co.’s Consumer Group and Jason Bass, Joe Conner, and James O’Malley from the firm’s Transportation & Logistics (T&L) Group.
Debt financing for the acquisition was led by GE Capital and The Bank of Ireland.
2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 8-22-14
