Archives for May 10, 2018

Ontario Teachers Selling Helly Hansen

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Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) has agreed to sell Helly Hansen to publicly traded Canadian Tire Corporation for $985 million and the assumption of $50 million of net debt.

Helly Hansen is a designer, developer and marketer of high-performance technical apparel – including outerwear, base layers, sportswear and footwear – that is used in sailing, skiing, mountain, urban, rainwear and workwear applications. The company has wholesale and retail distribution capabilities in more than 40 countries and annual revenues of approximately US$300 million. Helly Hansen is headquartered in Oslo, Norway (www.hellyhansen.com).

Helly Hansen was founded in 1877 by Helly Juell Hansen, an experienced seamen, and he and his wife Maren Margarethe began the business by producing oilskin jackets, trousers, sou’westers and tarpaulins, made from coarse linen soaked in linseed oil. The company was family-owned until its sale to Norwegian conglomerate Orkla and was later acquired by Investcorp in 1997. In October 2006, Investcorp sold its interest in the company to Altor Equity Partners. Then, in August 2012, OTPP acquired 75% of Helly Hansen from Altor and in July 2015 OTPP purchased Altor’s remaining minority equity interest.

Paul Stoneham, the CEO of Helly Hansen, and the existing management team will continue to lead the business under Canadian Tire ownership.

Canadian Tire (TSX: CTC) sells a sells a wide range of automotive, hardware, sports and leisure, and home products. The company’s retail operations include Canadian Tire, its core retail and automotive service operation; Canadian Tire Petroleum, an operator of gas stations, car washes, and oil change shops; Mark’s, a men’s, women’s, and work apparel retailer; FGL Sports, a sporting goods and sportswear retailer; and PartSource, a retailer of auto parts and accessories. Canadian Tire is headquartered in Toronto (www.canadiantire.ca).

“For more than ten years, Helly Hansen has been an exceptional fit with Canadian Tire and this acquisition will strengthen our assortment across all of our banners,” said Stephen Wetmore, President and CEO of Canadian Tire. “With our capabilities and Helly Hansen’s trusted global brand and management team, we see tremendous opportunity for Canadian Tire and Helly Hansen, in Canada and internationally.”

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is one of Canada’s largest and most active pension investors with C$180 billion in net assets as of June 2017. Teachers’ portfolio of assets, 80% of which is managed in-house, has earned an annualized rate of return of 10.1% since the plan’s founding in 1990. Teachers’ has offices in Toronto, Hong Kong and London (www.otpp.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | May 10, 2018

Incline Building Turbine Repair Platform

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Rotating Machinery Services (RMS), a portfolio company of Incline Equity Partners, has acquired AC Compressor and CONMEC Engineered Compressors (together ACC) from Baker Hughes, a subsidiary of General Electric.

The acquisition of ACC includes the personnel, intellectual property and tooling of AC Compressor as well as the drawings and designs of CONMEC’s centrifugal and axial compressors.

ACC services and repairs industrial compressors in the refining & petrochemical, industrial, onshore/offshore production and pipeline & gas processing industries. The company’s product line consists of axial, centrifugal and oil-free-screw compressors, with a worldwide installed base of over 1,200 machines. AC Compressor’s history began in 1931 when it was part of Allis-Chalmers. AC Compressor acquired CONMEC in 1997 and in 2001, General Electric acquired both businesses from Dover Corporation.

RMS is an aftermarket turbomachinery services company, providing repair and remanufacturing of industrial rotating machinery and equipment, including compressors, gas and steam turbines, and expanders used in the oil and gas refining, steel, chemicals, and natural gas transmission sectors. The company, led by CEO John Bartos, has facilities in Bethlehem, PA (headquarters), Houston, TX and Appleton, WI (www.rotatingmachinery.com).

RMS currently has 132 employees and the ACC acquisition adds an additional 32 employees to its corporate headcount. “This acquisition empowers us with the expert personnel, intellectual property, associated tooling of the AC Compressor products and the drawings for the CONMEC centrifugal and axial compressor offerings,” said Mr. Bartos. “Acquiring these fundamentals gives RMS the unique ability to act as an OEM while maintaining its sole focus on aftermarket work.  The ACC and CONMEC service offerings are extremely important to RMS, and we are proud to be the leading provider in the market.”

RMS has been a portfolio company of Incline since October 2015. “We are proud to have helped RMS more than triple the size of the company since our initial investment,” said Justin Bertram, Partner with Incline.  “This transaction marks our second acquisition together, and it strategically positions RMS for the next phase of growth.  We will be laser-focused on the integration and ensuring a smooth transition for the ACC customer base.” The first add-on acquisition for RMS was the May 2017 acquisition of Houston-based Mepco, a provider of repair services for rotating equipment including turbines, compressors, pumps, and centrifuges.

Incline Equity Partners invests from $15 million to $30 million in support of recapitalizations, buyouts and corporate divestitures of lower middle market companies that have EBITDAs greater than $5 million and enterprise values between $50 million and $300 million. Sectors of interest include value-added distribution, specialized light manufacturing, and business and industrial services.  Incline was formed in 2011 and is based in Pittsburgh (www.inclineequity.com).

TwinBrook Capital Partners was the sole lead arranger and administrative agent for the financing that supported the buy of ACC by RMS. 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 (www.twincp.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | May 10, 2018

Dominus Adds Operating Partner

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Dominus Capital has expanded its team with the hiring of Scott Moore as an Operating Partner.

Mr. Moore was previously the majority owner of Greenville, IL-based Nevco, a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of sports scoreboards and electronic displays that are sold to high schools, colleges, universities, stadiums and commercial properties. Dominus acquired a majority equity interest in Nevco from the Moore family in July 2017.

Prior to his ownership of Nevco, which began in 2004, Mr. Moore was an executive with A.G. Edwards and Merrill Lynch. He has a BS degree in Economics from Missouri State University and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.

At Dominus, Mr. Moore is currently involved in all stages of the firm’s investment cycle from origination to value creation, with a specific focus in the sports, media & advertising, value-added technology, and K-12/ higher education-related markets.

Dominus makes control equity investments in North American middle market companies that have up to $30 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, consumer, and business services. The firm was founded by Gary Binning, Bob Haswell, and Ashish Rughwani – all former Quad-C Management executives – in 2008. The group of founding partners was later joined by several CEOs of past portfolio companies that now serve as Operating Partners of the firm.  Dominus is headquartered in New York (www.dominuscap.com).

Earlier this month, Dominus formed L2 Brands to acquire and merge Legacy Athletica and League Collegiate Outfitters. Both companies are designers and suppliers of collegiate, resort and corporate headwear, apparel and home décor.

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | May 10, 2018