SIRVA Worldwide Relocation & Moving (SIRVA), a global relocation and moving services provider, has agreed to be acquired by Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP). SIRVA has been a portfolio company of Aurora Resurgence and Equity Group Investments since 2008.
SIRVA is a moving and relocation services company and provides for the interstate transportation of household goods throughout the United States and internationally. The company’s brand names include Allied Van Lines, North American Van Lines, and Allied Pickfords. SIRVA has 55 offices, 620 agent locations and more than 2,600 employees operating in 170 countries. The company is led by CEO Tom Oberdorf and is headquartered near Chicago in Oakbrook Terrace, IL (www.sirva.com).
SIRVA was formed by Clayton, Dubilier and Rice in 1999 when it merged North American Van Lines, which it had acquired in 1998, with Allied Van Lines and Pickford, which were 
both acquired from Norfolk Southern Corporation. In 2002 SIRVA went public and in 2008 the company entered bankruptcy and re-organized, emerging in May 2008 as a private company under Aurora Resurgence and Equity Group Investments ownership.
“This is an exciting time for SIRVA, and MDP is the ideal partner to help us accelerate our growth strategy,” said Mr. Oberdorf. “The firm has a long, successful track record of supporting companies like SIRVA. We look forward to working with MDP as we execute on our objectives to grow our business and enhance the value we provide our clients. I would also like to thank Aurora Resurgence and EGI for their support over the years in helping us build the tremendous company we have today.”
“As a leader in a dynamic and highly fragmented industry, SIRVA has a bright future,” said Richard Copans, a Managing Director at MDP. “With a strong brand, global footprint and impressive track record, SIRVA is well positioned to enter a new phase of growth and continued success. We look forward to bringing to bear our expertise and deep network of resources and contacts to help Tom Oberdorf and his leadership team build on SIRVA’s strong momentum and grow the business by continuing to provide the very best corporate relocation services available in the market.”
Madison Dearborn invests in privately held or publicly traded companies in the following sectors: basic industries; business and government software and services; financial and transaction services; health care; and telecom, media and technology services. In August 2016 the firm closed its seventh buyout fund at $4.4 billion. Madison Dearborn was founded in 1992 and is based in Chicago (www.mdcp.com).
Aurora Resurgence invests in the equity and debt securities of middle market companies that are involved in complex situations that arise from financial or operational challenges. Aurora Resurgence is headquartered in Los Angeles (www.aurorares.com).
Equity Group Investments (EGI) is the private investment firm founded by Sam Zell 50 years ago. The firm invests opportunistically across industries and geographies and throughout the capital structure. Current portfolio investments are in the energy, waste, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, media, healthcare, insurance, and real estate sectors. EGI is based in Chicago (www.egizell.com).
Goldman Sachs & Co. was the financial advisor to SIRVA.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | May 24, 2018
Abacus Finance Group was the Administrative Agent and Lead Arranger for $22 million in senior secured credit facilities to support the recent acquisition of GAHH, a portfolio company of Argenta Partners, by River Associates Investments.
“We chose once again to partner with the Abacus team because of their expertise in financing companies in niche industry sectors and their ability to assure certainty of close early on,” said Mike Brookshire, Co-Managing Partner of River Associates.
River Associates invests in US and Canadian-based companies with revenues of $20 million to $100 million and EBITDA of $3 million to $15 million. Sectors of interest include niche manufacturing, high margin distribution, industrial services, and business services. The firm is investing out of its seventh fund which closed in June 2017 with commitments of $285 million. River Associates was founded in 1989 and is based in Chattanooga, TN (
“Over the years River Associates has been terrific to work with and have proved to be a great fit for us given their investment strategy and lower-middle market focus,” said Tim Clifford, President and CEO of Abacus Finance.
Abacus provides cash flow-based senior financing to private equity-sponsored, lower-middle market companies that have EBITDA between $3 million and $15 million. Debt facilities can be as large as $60 million with a typical hold size ranging from $10 million to $30 million. New York-based Abacus was formed in June 2011 and is an affiliate of New York Private Bank & Trust (
Ranch Creek Partners and Hillstar Capital have acquired Patriot Erectors, a fabricator and erector of structural and miscellaneous steel.
“This transaction comes at a pivotal time for Patriot. With the retirement of CFO, Rex Webb, and the desire to expand the business, this equity investment signifies a new era for the company,” said J.D. Kritser, founder and managing partner of Ranch Creek and Chairman of the Board of Patriot. “Central Texas is one of the strongest construction markets in the country and Patriot, with its unique, turnkey business model, is well-positioned to capitalize on it.”
Ranch Creek Partners invests in companies that have EBITDA from $2 million to $10 million and enterprise values of $10 million to $50 million. The firm is based in Seattle (
Hillstar Capital invests both debt and equity in lower middle market companies that have up to $8 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include business services, consumer, industrial and healthcare. The firm was founded in 2014 and is based in Dallas (
ACG Materials, a portfolio company of H.I.G. Capital, has acquired Kitsap Reclamation and Materials.
Kitsap is ACG’s ninth add-on acquisition since H.I.G. acquired the company in 2012. “We are pleased to support ACG in its acquisition of Kitsap,” said Keval Patel, a Managing Director of H.I.G. “The investment continues our successful track record of acquiring leading mining and processing operations in attractive, high growth markets.”
H.I.G. specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies and invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of manufacturing and service businesses. H.I.G. has more than $25 billion of capital under management. The firm is based in Miami with additional offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro (
