Private equity firms O2 Investment Partners and Oakland Standard have formed Clio Holdings to serve as a consolidator of local and regional countertop supply and fabrication businesses. Tecum Capital Partners also invested in this transaction by providing both mezzanine debt and an equity co-investment.
Clio will be used to acquire regional countertop suppliers and fabricators – a highly fragmented industry -and provide them with needed capital and expertise to upgrade, differentiate and professionalize their operations.
Clio has already completed two acquisitions and is seeking new opportunities in major metro areas across the United States. In September 2016, Clio acquired Granite Source, a stone countertop fabrication and installation business primarily serving metropolitan Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland. The company was founded by
Nicholas Draper in 1999 and is based in Chantilly, VA (www.granitesource.net). The first acquisition, prior to the formation of the Clio holding company, was the buy of Princess Marble by Oakland Standard in June 2016. Princess is a fabricator and installer of natural and manufactured stone products primarily serving metropolitan Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Princess Marble was founded by Bill Jenkins in 1998 and is based south of Minneapolis in Burnsville, MN (www.princessmarblegranite.com).
Both Mr. Draper and Mr. Jenkins have joined the Clio platform, reinvested in the combined business and are actively engaged in the execution of the Clio strategy.
“We have been extremely impressed by Oakland Standard’s exhaustive market diligence and well-developed strategy,” said Todd Fink, Managing Partner of O2. “We are excited to partner with them not only for this investment, but also in future acquisitions as we grow the Clio platform together. I also want to thank Tecum Capital for their insights and flexibility in providing the financing for the transaction.”
O2 Investment Partners makes control investments of $5 million to $75 million in companies with EBITDAs from $2 million to $10 million located anywhere in the US and Canada but has a preference for the Midwest and the Great Lakes regions. Sectors of interest include niche manufacturing, niche distribution, select service businesses, and certain technology businesses. O2 Investment Partners is based in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills (www.o2investment.com).
Oakland Standard invests in US and Canada-based companies that have less than $10 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include niche manufacturers, value-added distributors, general industrial and automotive, and building products. The firm is based in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham (www.oaklandstandard.com).
Tecum Capital Partners, a $200 million SBIC investment fund, invests from $3 million to $15 million of subordinated debt and equity in companies that have revenues of $8 million to $100 million and EBITDA of at least $2 million. Tecum Capital Partners is based in the Pittsburgh suburb of Wexford (www.tecum.com).
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 11-17-16