Bridgepoint Buys Safety Technology from Golden Gate
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Bridgepoint Buys Safety Technology from Golden Gate

Bridgepoint has acquired Safety Technology Holdings, a supplier of safety test equipment and sensors, from Golden Gate Capital. Golden Gate acquired the company in December 2016 from Wynnchurch Capital.

Safety Technology Holdings (STH), through its Humanetics, HITEC, SDI, FronTone and Fibercore subsidiaries, is a provider of biofidelic anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs), commonly known as crash test dummies, and related sensor measurement systems and test equipment. The company’s products are used for the development and certification of occupant safety protection technologies across a variety of end markets including aerospace, agriculture, automotive, energy, industrial and medical devices.

Customers of STH include many Fortune 100 companies, the US military and other government agencies. The company, led by CEO Christopher O’Connor, has approximately 600 employees, 19 facilities located around the world, and is headquartered near Detroit in Farmington Hills, MI (www.humaneticsatd.com) (www.fibercore.com) (www.hitecsensors.com) (www.frontone-automotive.com).

“STH is a pioneer in saving lives. Its technology is uniquely positioned to address the opportunities presented by disruptive developments such as driverless and electric cars and increased safety regulatory requirements. We look forward to working with the company to pursue its many avenues of growth,” said Andrew Sweet, a Partner at Bridgepoint.

Bridgepoint makes equity investments between €75 million and €400 million in companies typically valued between €200 million and €1 billion.  The firm’s lower middle market business, Bridgepoint Development Capital, specializes in investments in businesses valued up to €150 million.  Sectors of interest include business services, consumer, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing & industrials and media & technology. The investment in STH was made by Bridgepoint Europe V, a €4 billion middle market buyout fund that closed in March 2015. The firm has offices in Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, Stockholm, Warsaw, Shanghai, Amsterdam, and New York (www.bridgepoint.eu).

“We have enjoyed an amazing partnership with Chris O’Connor. Under Chris’ leadership, the company has successfully executed on its growth strategy, which has resulted in the doubling of its size in just four years, by expanding into adjacent markets across a variety of product lines,” said Rajeev Amara, Managing Director at Golden Gate Capital. “We are confident the company has a bright future ahead.”

Golden Gate Capital targets companies across a range of industries and transaction types, including going-privates, corporate divestitures, recapitalizations, and public equity investments. The firm has approximately $15 billion of capital under management and is based in San Francisco (www.goldengatecap.com).

Moelis & Company was the financial advisor to Golden Gate Capital and Houlihan Lokey was the advisor to Bridgepoint.

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | February 13, 2018

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