Merit Capital Partners has sold PVI Riverside Holdings to publicly traded Watts Water Technologies. Merit initially invested in PVI in 2008 and later partnered with management to acquire the company in 2014.
PVI is a manufacturer of engineer-specified plumbing and heating equipment for new construction and building retrofits. The company’s products utilize any of the common energy sources (gas, oil, electric, steam, and hot water) or combinations of energies in storage tanks ranging from 125 to 4500 gallons. PVI’s production is 100% dedicated to the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) commercial market with no residential manufacturing. PVI began building commercial, institutional, and industrial water heaters in 1961. Today, the company has more than 130,000 PVI installations worldwide. The company is based in Ft. Worth, TX (www.pvi.com).
Merit Capital Partners invests mezzanine and equity capital of $15 million to $60 million in companies with at least $5 million of EBITDA that are active in the manufacturing, distribution and services industries. Merit was founded in 1993 and is based in Chicago (www.meritcapital.com).
Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS), the buyer of PVI, designs and manufactures products that are used in plumbing & flow control; water quality & conditioning; water re-use & drainage; HVAC; and municipal waterworks. The company’s products are used in residential, industrial, municipal, and commercial applications. Watts was founded by Joseph E. Watts in 1874 and is headquartered in Andover, MA (www.wattswater.com).
PVI was a portfolio company of Merit’s fourth fund and the sale closed on November 2, 2016.
© 2016 Private Equity Professional | December 8, 2016
