Norwest Equity Partners has acquired Ramsey Industries, a manufacturer of service cranes, industrial and commercial winches, planetary gear, and digger drives. Ramsey Industries was a portfolio company of Gridiron Capital and AEA Investors.
Ramsey Industries operates three wholly-owned branded subsidiaries: Auto Crane, Eskridge, and Ramsey Winch. Auto Crane designs and manufactures a line of truck-mounted electric and hydraulic telescopic cranes, crane service bodies, and crane controls that are used in the energy, mining, construction, industrial, forestry and railroad industries. Eskridge is a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of planetary gear drives and anchor drives, digger drives, and multiple-disc brakes sold to OEM and distribution customers. Ramsey Winch designs and manufactures industrial and consumer winches for use in towing and recovery, industrial, petroleum, off-road and ATV vehicles.
Ramsey has two facilities; one in Tulsa which serves as corporate headquarters and is a production facility for both Auto Crane and Ramsey Winch; and one in Olathe, KS (southwest of Kansas City) where Eskridge products are manufactured (www.ramseyindustries.com).
Ramsey was founded in 1944 as Ramsey Brothers Tool & Die by Claude and Rayburn Ramsey to manufacture aircraft parts, tools, and dies for Douglas Aircraft Company (now part of McDonnell Douglas which is owned by Boeing).
“On behalf of the entire Ramsey team, we are thrilled to partner with NEP for the next phase of our growth,” said John Celoni, Ramsey CEO. “NEP has a long-standing reputation for not only successful investments but continued advancement and implementation of strategic initiatives for its portfolio companies. There is a great cultural fit between our two teams, and we are excited to leverage NEP’s capital, network and vast resources, as well as its high-quality competence as an investment partner.”
Norwest Equity Partners makes equity investments of $30 million to $250 million in companies that have more than $10 million in EBITDA. Sectors of interest include agriculture, business services, consumer, distribution, diversified industrials, energy, and healthcare. In April 2015, NEP closed Norwest Equity Partners X, LP, a $1.6 billion fund and Norwest Mezzanine Partners IV, LP, an $800 million fund formed by NEP’s affiliated mezzanine investment firm, Norwest Mezzanine Partners. Norwest Equity Partners is headquartered in Minneapolis (www.nep.com).
“Ramsey’s highly diversified business model, experienced management team, excellent customer service, and premium brand portfolio differentiates them amongst their competitors,” said Tim Kuehl, a Partner at NEP. “We look forward to working together with John and his team to leverage the Company’s already superior platform for continued growth.”
Gridiron Capital, the seller of Ramsey, invests in manufacturing, service and specialty consumer companies that have EBITDAs from $5 million to $30 million and that are located in the United States and Canada. In October 2016, Gridiron held a final closing of the firm’s third fund, Gridiron Capital Fund III LP, at the hard cap of $850 million. Gridiron’s earlier fund closed with $425 million of capital commitments in August 2012. The firm is based in New Canaan, CT (www.gridironcapital.com).
AEA makes equity and debt investments in middle market companies that operate in the following sectors: retail and consumer products, services, specialty chemicals, and value-added industrial products. The firm manages approximately $9 billion of capital. AEA was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in New York (www.aeainvestors.com).
Ally Corporate Finance, ING Capital and Siemens Financial Services provided senior debt for this transaction and Norwest Mezzanine Partners served as mezzanine lender. BB&T Capital Markets was the financial advisor to Ramsey.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | November 8, 2017
