Industrial Opportunity Partners (IOP) has acquired GT Technologies from American Securities which has owned the company since September 2009.
GT Technologies is a supplier of gasoline and diesel engine valve train systems and components used in the global automotive, heavy duty truck and off-road vehicle industries. Valve trains are mechanical systems that controls operation of the valves in an internal combustion engine, in which a sequence of components transmits motion throughout the assembly. GT’s products include hydraulic lash adjusting capsules, hydraulic and mechanical roller tappets, stamped rocker arms and roller finger followers, roller bearings and axles, rocker shaft assemblies, and valve train actuation assemblies with hydraulic lash compensation. The company also services heavy duty diesel customers with mechanical roller tappets and roller bearings for high pressure fuel injector pumps.
GT Technologies was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Westland, MI, with manufacturing and assembly operations in Toledo and Defiance, OH; Tallahassee, FL; and Curitiba, Brazil. The company also has a prototyping center near Toledo in Millbury, OH (www.gttechnologies.com).
IOP is partnering in its investment with Paul Schwarzbaum, GT Technologies’ President and CEO, and the company’s senior management team, all of whom have ownership interests and will remain in their current positions. In addition, Phil Fioravante, an IOP Operating Principal, will assume the position of Chairman of the Board of the company. Dr. Fioravante is a member of IOP’s Board of Operating Principals which is comprised of executives who provide leadership to the businesses in which IOP invests.
“We are excited to partner with the GT Technologies team. We believe that GT Technologies is a growing business in a niche market segment and has an excellent reputation and longstanding customer relationships,” said Ken Tallering, Senior Managing Director of IOP.
IOP 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).
GT Technologies represents IOP’s 11th platform investment for Industrial Opportunity Partners II, LP, the firm’s $275 million second fund which closed in April 2012.
Houlihan Lokey (www.hl.com) was the financial advisor to the shareholders of GT Technologies. Bank of America (www.bankofamerica.com) and Patriot Capital (www.patriot-capital.com) provided financing.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | February 10, 2017
