Niteo Products, a portfolio company of Highlander Partners, has acquired Cyclo Industries from Pidilite USA.
Cyclo Industries is a specialty chemicals company that makes and sells performance, maintenance, and appearance products that are used in the automotive, heavy duty/fleet, industrial, and agricultural and marine segments. Company brand names include Cyclo, Rain Dance, No.7, Rally and USPro. Cyclo Industries was founded in 1959 and acquired by Mumbai, India-based Pidilite in 2006. Cyclo is headquartered in Jupiter, FL. The operations of Cyclo Industries will be remain in the Jupiter facility and will continue to be led by Vice President Doug Salazar.
Niteo Products is a formulator, manufacturer and marketer of automotive appearance and maintenance chemical products including waxes, polishes, compounds, dressings, soaps, cleaners, solvents, paints and dyes, fuel additives, parts cleaners, starting fluids, brake fluid, power steering fluid, and other functional fluids. Company owned brands include AP Formulators and Trans-Mate in the car wash category; and CarBrite, Hi-Tech and Trans-Mate in the detail, dealership and auto auction category. In the automotive maintenance and performance chemical industry, Niteo owns the Pyroil brand and is a licensee of the Valvoline & MaxLife brands. Niteo Products has a manufacturing and distribution facility based south of Memphis in Hernando, MS and is headquartered in Dallas (www.niteoproducts.com).
Niteo Products was formed by Highlander in July 2015 to acquire Valvoline`s car-care products assets. Since the formation of the original platform, add-on acquisitions, in addition to Cyclo, include Hi-Tech (February 2017), a Detroit-based provider of professional car care product accessories and specialty aerosols to the automotive appearance industry; Trans-Mate (November 2016), a Boston-based formulator of vehicle appearance products serving car wash and detailing professionals; and AP Formulators (September 2016), a Houston-based formulator of car wash chemicals serving self-serve, automatic and express/full service car washes.
“The addition of Cyclo to our family of brands further reinforces our strategy to build a leading business in the automotive performance, maintenance, and appearance markets,” said Jeff Hull, President and Managing Partner of Highlander. “Closing our fourth acquisition in this space within the last nine months validates our intent to utilize acquisitions to complement our organic growth efforts. We continue to evaluate numerous other add-ons and expect to close additional acquisitions in the future.”
Highlander Partners makes investments in middle market businesses in targeted industries in which the principals of the firm have significant operating and investing experience. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, consumer products, industrial goods, automotive accessories, packaging, food and beverage, and specialty chemicals. The firm has over $1.2 billion in capital under management and is based in Dallas (www.highlander-partners.com).
“Bringing Cyclo’s robust lineup of professional car care product accessories and specialty aerosols into the portfolio of Niteo Products further builds upon our growing importance and leadership within automotive performance, maintenance, and appearance markets,” said Terry Morgan, Niteo’s CEO. “The acquisition of Cyclo provides us with additional distribution in the US, and Cyclo’s international capabilities adds to our ability to service additional customers with our complete product offering.”
Pidilite Industries, the parent of Pidilite USA, is a manufacturer of adhesives & sealants, wood finishes & paints, art material & stationery, construction chemicals, and fabric care products. The company is publicly traded on the National Stock Exchange of India under the symbol PIDILITIND and is headquartered in Mumbai, India (www.pidilite.com).
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | June 13, 2017
