Falconhead Capital has agreed to sell its portfolio company GPSi Holdings, the parent of GPS Industries, to publicly-traded Ingersoll-Rand.
GPS Industries (GPSi) was acquired by Falconhead Capital in September 2009 after the company had filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in July 2009. At the time of acquisition, GPSi was a provider of golf cart-mounted global positioning displays which showed distances, playing tips, and advertising messages to golfers. Today, the company provides a broader range of telematic services (the technology of sending, receiving and storing information relating to remote objects – like vehicles – via telecommunication devices) to fleet managers in a range of industries from luxury motor-coaches to golf cars to school buses. The company’s services and products track more than 75,000 connected vehicles in over 50 countries. GPSi is headquartered in Sarasota, FL with additional offices in Texas, the UK, Sydney, and Hong Kong (www.gpsindustries.com).
Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE:IR) designs, manufactures, sells, and services industrial and commercial products under the American Standard, ARO, Club Car, Nexia, Thermo King, and Trane brand names. For nearly a decade, Ingersoll Rand has been integrating GPSi products with its Club Car vehicles. The company, with annual revenues of approximately $13.5 billion, was founded in 1872 and has its operational headquarters in Davidson, NC (www.ingersollrand.com).
“We are proud of the growth and development of GPSi under our ownership,” said David Moross, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Falconhead. “We have executed on a wide range of initiatives designed to make the company’s technology and service offerings increasingly valuable to customers in a variety of end markets. In particular, our long relationship with Ingersoll Rand is a clear illustration of the value of GPSi and a critical element of our success. Ingersoll Rand’s decision to now acquire GPSi is a strong endorsement of what has been achieved and we are confident that GPSi will continue to reach new heights as part of a leading global company.”
“As a leader in telematics, we are pleased to deepen our capabilities in delivering exceptional customer value and end user experience for Ingersoll Rand customers,” said Dave Regnery, Executive Vice President of Ingersoll Rand. “With GPSi, we are well positioned to help customers maximize the value of their fleets, and to capitalize on the multi-billion dollar market for intelligent mobile assets across trucking, resort, golf, education, rental and other industries.” The GPSi acquisition follows Ingersoll Rand’s 2015 buy of Celtrak, a telematics provider for transport refrigeration.
Falconhead Capital invests in consumer-oriented companies in the sports, media, consumer, lifestyle, and food and beverage sectors that have revenues between $20 million and $150 million and EBITDA between $5 million and $30 million. Typical equity investments range from $10 million to $50 million per transaction and up to $100 million with co-investors. The firm was founded in 1988 and is based in New York (www.falconheadcapital.com).
Piper Jaffray was the financial advisor to GPSi on this transaction.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | October 31, 2017
