Genstar Capital has acquired Boyd Corporation, a manufacturer of gaskets and seals and other specialty products that are used in energy management and environmental sealing applications, from Snow Phipps Group which acquired the company in July 2012 from Sentinel Capital Partners.
Boyd’s customers include multinational OEMs across various end markets, including the mobile computing, commercial vehicle, recreational vehicle, consumer electronics, agriculture and construction equipment, aerospace, and medical industries. The company is headquartered in Modesto, CA (www.boydcorp.com).
“Genstar has a proven record of supporting and growing companies in the industrial sector and they share our belief in the continued long-term success of our company. Boyd has a strong position in a very large and highly fragmented market and we look forward to leveraging Genstar’s experience and additional capital to accelerate our plans for growth, both organically and through acquisitions,” said Mitch Aiello, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boyd.
Genstar Capital invests from $50 million to $400 million in middle-market companies that have enterprise values from $50 million to $1 billion and EBITDAs greater than $15 million. Genstar manages approximately $3 billion of committed capital and targets investments in the industrial technology, financial services, software, and healthcare industries. The firm was founded in 1988 and is based in San Francisco (www.gencap.com).
During the course of Snow Phipps’ ownership the company completed several add-on acquisitions. In August 2014, Boyd acquired the Asian and European die-cut businesses of Brady Corporation increasing its presence in the mobile computing and electronics markets while expanding the company’s footprint in Asia and establishing a presence in Europe. In September 2014, Boyd acquired the SOLIMIDE foam business of Evonik AG, to grow the company’s aerospace presence. Snow Phipps worked with Boyd to integrate these acquisitions and also made operating improvements at the company in the areas of customer relationship management, engineering, and manufacturing.
“This transaction validates our investment process.” said Ian Snow, CEO and Partner of Snow Phipps. “Acquiring high quality businesses like Boyd and building partnerships between management, our investment team and operating partners create significant opportunities for our portfolio companies during and after our ownership.”
Snow Phipps makes control investments in companies primarily located in North America with enterprise values ranging from $100 million to $500 million that require equity investments ranging from $40 million to $100 million. The firm has $1.5 billion of assets under management and was co-founded by Ian Snow and Ogden Phipps in April 2005. Snow Phipps is headquartered in New York (www.snowphipps.com).
UBS Investment Bank served as financial advisor to Genstar and Weil, Gotshal & Manges provided legal counsel. Snow Phipps’ financial advisor was Robert W. Baird & Co. and legal counsel was Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-17-15