Race Winning Brands, a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, has completed the add-on acquisitions of sister companies Diamond Pistons and Trend Performance, manufacturers of high-performance engine components.
Diamond Pistons is a manufacturer of high-performance forged automotive pistons that are sold to a variety of customers across the professional racing and enthusiast markets. The company was founded in 1968 and is based near Detroit in Clinton, MI (www.diamondracing.net).
Trend Performance is a manufacturer of high-performance internal engine components including pushrods and wrist pins. The company was founded in 1988 by Bob Fox and is based near Detroit in Warren, MI (www.trendperform.com).
“We are excited that Diamond Pistons and Trend Performance have joined the Race Winning Brands and Kinderhook families and look forward to executing against our long-term strategic objectives together. The acquisition of these brands further strengthens the Race Winning Brands platform as the company continues to expand its portfolio of high-performance products,” said Tom Tuttle, Managing Director of Kinderhook Industries.
These acquisitions represent the first add-ons for Race Winning Brands (RWB) since its formation in February 2017 to facilitate the buy of Performance Motorsports International from publicly-traded Dover Corporation for total consideration of $150 million. As part of that transaction, Dover agreed to have a minority equity ownership interest in RWB.
Performance Motorsports International (PMI) is a manufacturer of performance and racing pistons as well as connecting rods, crankshafts, electronics, and 
other engine related components. The company sells its products to the automotive and powersports performance markets under several brands including JE Pistons, Wiseco Performance Products, K1 Technologies, Innovate Motorsports, and ProX Racing Parts. Customers include professional and sportsman racers, engine builders, enthusiasts, street performance racers, OEM crate engine builders, and automotive and powersports wholesale distributors. The company is headquartered east of Cleveland in Mentor, OH (www.pmi-brands.com); (www.wiseco.com); (www.jepistons.com); (www.pro-x.com); (www.k1technologies.com); and (www.innovatemotorsports.com).
“Diamond Pistons and Trend Performance have firmly established themselves as trail-blazers in the automotive performance market. We are very excited to welcome Bob Fox and add both businesses to the RWB family while retaining their customer focused strategy that prioritizes speed and innovation. The acquisition of Diamond Pistons and Trend Performance complements RWB’s existing portfolio of brands and accelerates the company’s commitment to deliver race winning products to its customers,” said RWB CEO, Brian Reese.
Kinderhook intends to continue the growth of RWB both organically and through acquisitions in the automotive and powersports performance markets. RWB continues to invest in brand development and new product innovation, while evaluating opportunities to expand into adjacent and new product categories.
Kinderhook makes control investments in companies with transaction values of $25 million to $150 million in which the firm can achieve financial, operational and growth improvements. The firm makes investments in non-core divisions of public companies, management buyouts of entrepreneurial-owned businesses, troubled situations, and existing small capitalization companies lacking institutional support. Kinderhook was founded in 2003 and is based in New York (www.kinderhook.com).
The buys of the Diamond Pistons and Trend Performance brands represent Kinderhook’s 45th automotive related transaction.
Kirkland & Ellis provided legal services to Race Winning Brands on this transaction.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | April 7, 2017
