Material Handling Systems, an employee-owned provider of engineering services and equipment used in parcel sortation systems, has agreed to be acquired by Thomas H. Lee Partners.
Material Handling Systems (MHS) provides engineering services and equipment, project management, and installation services to the parcel industry with best-in-class design, implementation, and maintenance of turnkey material handling sortation and distribution systems. Customers of MHS include some of the top logistics and e-Commerce companies in the world. The company currently operates out of six facilities: four in Louisville, KY; one in Wilmington, OH; and the MHS Canada headquarters in Toronto. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Louisville (www.mhsinc.net).
In response to increased demand and new product development, coupled with an increase in employees, MHS is constructing a new 222,000 square foot facility in Mt. Washington, KY, which will become the new headquarters for both MHS, and its sister company, Santa Rosa Systems (SRS) – a vertically-integrated equipment manufacturing business. This new building will provide an increase in production capacity, maximize manufacturing efficiencies, and improve productivity and profitability. The anticipated completion date is summer 2017.
Given the significant increase and acceleration of demand for advanced automation infrastructure – especially in the e-Commerce industry – MHS sought a strategic and financial partner to invest in the company’s future growth prospects, including the potential for product and geographic expansion.
“We are excited to announce our new partnership with THL, whose extensive experience in growing successful businesses will prove valuable as we continue to serve our customers’ growing demand for automated parcel sortation systems,” said Tony Mouser, Chief Executive Officer of MHS. “We have always been a customer-focused company, and we chose THL as our new partner given our shared vision to better serve our customers’ needs while creating opportunities for our employees.”
Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL) was founded in 1974 and is one of the oldest private equity investment firms in the United States. Industries of interest include consumer and healthcare, media and information services, and business and financial services. Since its founding, THL has raised approximately $20 billion of equity capital and invested in more than 130 businesses with an aggregate purchase price of more than $150 billion. The firm is based in Boston (www.thl.com).
“We are thrilled about the opportunity to partner with Tony and the talented team at MHS and SRS,” said Jim Carlisle, Managing Director at THL. “MHS is an exceptional company, driven by its commitment to engineering talent, technological innovation, and reliable, on-time delivery of advanced systems, software and equipment to its customers. We are excited to invest in the expansion of MHS as the company continues to deliver on its promise of providing best-in-class solutions for its customers.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers was the financial advisor to MHS and Baker McKenzie acted as legal advisor. RBC Capital Markets was the financial advisor to THL and Kirkland & Ellis was the legal advisor.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | April 20, 2017
