Air Filtration Holdings, a portfolio company of The Edgewater Funds and Duchossois Capital Management, has acquired RoboVent.
RoboVent is a maker of air filtration equipment and systems used in manufacturing facilities. The company’s products are used in welding applications, cutting and metalworking, dust collection, oil mist capture, and general ventilation. RoboVent is a turnkey provider and offers front-end engineering, product design, installation, and service and maintenance programs. The company was founded in 1989 as Great Lakes Air Systems and changed its name to RoboVent in 2007. RoboVent is headquartered near Detroit in Sterling Heights, MI and has sales and service centers located throughout the North America and Europe (www.robovent.com).
Air Filtration Holdings (AFH) was formed in 2017 by industry veteran Brandon Ost, The Edgewater Funds and Duchossois Capital Management to acquire companies that manufacture air filtration products used in commercial and industrial systems. RoboVent is AFH’s third acquisition. In July 2017 the company acquired Viskon-Aire, a Salisbury, MD-based manufacturer of air and paint filtration products; and in September 2017 it acquired Permatron, a manufacturer of air filter components based near Chicago in Elk Grove Village, IL.
“RoboVent’s focus on sustainability and dedication to customer-centric solutions is perfectly aligned with our mission to deliver best-in-class solutions that keep environments safe and industries thriving,” said Mr. Ost. “This is a prime example of our plans to drive innovation in air filtration by investing in the companies and people that power it.”
The Edgewater Funds invests in companies with revenues from $20 million to $500 million and EBITDAs from $5 million to $30 million. Sectors of interest include business services, financial and government services, consumer products and services, healthcare services, IT services and software and basic industries. The firm has $2.6 billion in committed capital and is based in Chicago (www.edgewaterfunds.com).
Duchossois Capital Management is a privately-held, family-owned investment firm that invests in a range of asset classes including private and public companies, private investment funds, and real estate. Private companies that the firm invests in will typically have revenues of $50 million to $500 million and EBITDA of $10 million to $75 million. Sectors of interest include engineered industrial products; building products; transportation, logistics, and rail leasing; value-added distribution; consumer durables; access control and security; AV equipment and services; healthcare IT and services; and technology-enabled services. Duchossois Capital Management is headquartered in Chicago (www.dcmllc.com).
Chicago-based TwinBrook Capital Partners was the sole lead arranger and administrative agent on $44 million of financing to Air Filtration Holdings to support a recapitalization and the buy of RoboVent. TwinBrook focuses on loans to private equity-owned companies with EBITDA between $3 million and $50 million, with an emphasis on companies with $25 million of EBITDA and below. The firm targets senior financing opportunities up to $200 million with hold sizes across the Twin Brook platform ranging from $25 million up to $100 million. Since inception in the fourth quarter of 2014, Twin Brook has closed 164 transactions and provided total arranged commitments of approximately $5.1 billion (www.twincp.com).