AAA Sales & Engineering, a portfolio company of Industrial Opportunity Partners, has acquired certain assets of General Products Corporation (GPC), a maker of drivetrain-related products used in automotive and commercial vehicle applications. GPC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2016.
AAA Sales & Engineering (AAASE) acquired substantially all of the business, operations and assets of GPC’s Angola, IN facility as well as the stock of GPC’s subsidiary – General Products Mexico, LLC – which is based north of Mexico City in San Luis Potosi. GPC was founded in 1922 and is headquartered near Detroit in Livonia, MI (www.general-products.com).
AAASE, led by its President, Brad Long, is a maker of large and complex iron castings used in the agricultural equipment and off-highway vehicle markets. The company’s services include design and prototyping to finished product and post-production services. With the buy of GPC, AAASE now has approximately 200 employees and operates from three facilities in Oak Creek, WI; Angola, IN, and San Luis Potosi, Mexico (www.aaase.com). AAASE was acquired by IOP in June 2014.
Industrial Opportunity Partners focuses on acquiring middle-market manufacturing and value-added distribution businesses, typically with revenues between $30 million and $350 million. The firm targets businesses with strong product, customer, and market positions and provides both management and operational resources to support sales growth and operational improvements. IOP was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Evanston (www.iopfund.com).
BlueWater Partners (www.bluewaterpartners.com) – an investment bank based in Grand Rapids, MI – represented GPC. Miller Johnson (www.millerjohnson.com) provided legal services.
MB Financial (www.mbfinancial.com), Silicon Valley Bank (www.svb.com) and Patriot Capital (www.patriot-capital.com) provided financing to back the acquisition. Winston & Strawn (www.winston.com) provided legal services to IOP.
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 9-15-16
