Archives for September 6, 2018

Baum Acquires Goettl Air Conditioning

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Baum Capital Partners has acquired Goettl Air Conditioning, a provider of HVAC and plumbing maintenance, repair and replacement services, in partnership with CEO Ken Goodrich.

The buy of Goettl was backed by debt financing from Tree Line Capital Partners, which also made an equity co-investment, and Bridge Bank.

Goettl Air Conditioning – with headquarters in Las Vegas and additional locations in Phoenix, Tucson, and near Los Angeles in Corona, CA – is one of the larger providers of residential HVAC and plumbing services in the region and serves more than 50,000 homeowners per year.

Goettl Air Conditioning was established in Phoenix in 1939 by brothers Gust and Sam Goettl and acquired by CEO Ken Goodrich in 2013. The company was recently named to the 2018 Inc. 5000 list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in the United States (www.goettl.com).

“We are thrilled to partner with Ken Goodrich, a proven leader who will continue as the CEO of Goettl and will remain a significant shareholder in the company,” said Jonathan Baum, Managing Partner of Baum Capital Partners. “Working together with Ken and his team, we intend to provide the resources necessary to enable Goettl Air Conditioning to reach its full potential as the leading residential services company in the United States through continued organic growth and strategic acquisitions in new and existing geographic markets.”

Baum Capital Partners (BCP) invests in US-based companies that have from $1 million to $5 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include business and consumer services; education and training; software; commercial and industrial services; testing, inspection and compliance; and healthcare. The firm is headquartered in Kansas City, MO (www.baumpartners.com).

“This partnership with BCP represents yet another leap forward for Goettl Air Conditioning toward realizing our mission of becoming the nation’s gold standard residential services company,” said Mr. Goodrich. “The capital and unique insight that BCP brings to the table will be a cornerstone for our continued growth and success.”

Tree Line Capital Partners, which provided debt and made an equity co-investment in Goettl Air Conditioning to support the transaction, is a direct lender focused on providing first lien term loans, unitranche term loans and equity co-investments to North American-based lower middle market borrowers with at least $3 million of EBITDA. Since inception in October 2014, Tree Line has completed over 52 transactions representing over $750 million in loan commitments for acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancings, expansion projects and other growth capital needs. Tree Line is headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in New York and New Orleans (www.treelinecp.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | September 6, 2018

Center Rock Closes First Fund

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Center Rock Capital Partners has held a final closing of its inaugural fund, Center Rock Capital Partners Fund I LP, with an oversubscribed $580 million of limited partner capital commitments. The firm began fundraising in late 2017 with a target of $450 million.

Center Rock was founded in August 2017 and is led by partners Ian Kirson and Terry Theodore. Prior to forming Center Rock, Mr. Kirson was a senior investment professional at Wynnchurch Capital from 2004 to 2017, most recently as a partner and a member of the firm’s investment committee. Similarly, Mr. Theodore was also a partner at Wynnchurch Capital from 2004 to 2016 and a member of the firm’s investment committee.

Center Rock makes control and non-control equity investments in North American-based industrial manufacturing, industrial services and industrial distribution companies that have revenues of $25 million to $500 million and EBITDA of up to $50 million (including negative EBITDA). Investments types include management buyouts, corporate divestitures and carve-outs, recapitalizations, under-performing businesses, restructurings and bankruptcies.

Center Rock operates out of two offices – one in Chicago and one in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills (www.centerrockcp.com).

Moelis & Company (www.moelis.com) was the placement agent for this fundraise and Kirkland & Ellis (www.kirkland.com) provided legal services.

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | September 6, 2018

CORE Building Industry 4.0 Platform

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CORE Industrial Partners has acquired Midwest Composite Technologies, a provider of 3D prototyping and low-volume production services, as well as CNC machining, injection molding and industrial design.

Midwest Composite Technologies’ (MCT) technical capabilities include laser sintering, poly-jet printing, stereolithography, fused deposition modeling and multi-jet fusion technologies. Customers of MCT are active in the medical, aerospace, research & development, consumer and industrial end markets.

The company has a 120,000 square foot operating facility and headquarters located west of Milwaukee in Hartland, WI. MCT was founded by its President Helmut Keidl in 1984 (www.midwestcomposite.com).

“On behalf of the Keidl family and all MCT employees, we are thrilled to partner with the CORE team,” said Mr. Keidl. “For three decades, Midwest Composite has been on the cutting edge of the burgeoning additive manufacturing industry, and now with access to CORE’s extensive resources and network of seasoned operating professionals, we are eager to work together to drive explosive growth in the business.”

MCT is the first acquisition by CORE as it executes an investment strategy to build an Industry 4.0 platform. Industry 4.0 refers to the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. The goal of Industry 4.0 is the creation of “smart factories” that utilize cyber-physical systems, the Internet of things, cloud computing and cognitive computing. Industry 4.0 is commonly referred to as the fourth industrial revolution.

“MCT is an important acquisition for CORE as it will serve as the platform investment for building a cutting-edge Industry 4.0 additive manufacturing company through both organic growth and complementary add-on acquisitions,” said John May, Managing Partner and Founder of CORE.

CORE makes control investments in companies that have revenues from $10 million to $200 million and EBITDA of up to $20 million. Sectors of interest include a range of specialty verticals within the manufacturing and industrial technology sectors. CORE was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Chicago (www.coreipfund.com).

“MCT’s full suite of in-house additive manufacturing technologies facilitates industry-leading turnaround times, including same-day processing and shipping,” said TJ Chung, Senior Partner at CORE, and now the chairman of the MCT board of directors. “Our investment in the company is representative of our desire to acquire leading lower middle market industrial technology businesses where we can utilize our unique experience as both investors and operators to identify and execute against a clear set of value creation initiatives.”

Monroe Capital (www.monroecap.com), a frequent provider of debt to CORE for its industrial acquisitions, led the debt financing for this transaction.

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | September 6, 2018

Wynnchurch Forms Infra Pipe Solutions

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Wynnchurch Capital has formed Infra Pipe Solutions to acquire certain Canadian assets of Uponor Infra Oy, a Finland-based maker of residential, commercial, and industrial pipe, for C$62.5 million.

Infra Pipe Solutions, now headquartered near Toronto in Mississauga, ON, is a manufacturer of large diameter, high-density polyethylene pipe that is used in water infrastructure, mining, industrial processes, oil & gas distribution, and other applications.

The company, led by CEO Sandeep Dhillon, has manufacturing facilities in Saskatoon, SK and Huntsville, ON. Annual revenues for the business in 2017 were an estimated C$120 million. “With the opportunities we have before us, this is a very exciting time for the company,” said Mr. Dhillon. “Wynnchurch has the resources and expertise to take our company into a new phase of expansion as we continue to help our customers grow.”

“We are excited to partner with Sandeep Dhillon, the management team, and all of the employees of the company to continue its track record of superior safety, quality, and customer service,” said Chris O’Brien, Managing Partner at Wynnchurch. “Infra Pipe Solutions has an exceptionally bright future and we look forward to supporting the company’s plans for growth.”

Wynnchurch makes investments in middle-market companies that have revenues of $50 million to $1 billion. Sectors of interest include aerospace & defense, automotive, building products, chemicals, food, logistics, energy services & equipment, environmental services, industrial products & services, metals & mining, and paper & packaging. The firm was founded in 1999 and is located in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont with additional offices in Los Angeles (El Segundo), and Toronto (www.wynnchurch.com).

Infra Pipe Solutions is Wynnchurch’s eleventh platform investment in Canada and the second investment the firm has made in Canada in 2018. In early August, the firm acquired Logistik Unicorp, a Montreal-based provider of managed clothing and uniform services; and in July it acquired Critical Process Systems Group, a Boise, ID-based provider of products that transport and store highly corrosive liquids and gases. Wynnchurch is actively investing from its $1.3 billion fourth fund which closed in November 2014.

“Infra Pipe Solutions has done an excellent job driving performance and delivering outstanding solutions to its customers,” said Brian Crumbaugh, Managing Director at Wynnchurch. “We believe that the company’s industry-leading product quality, availability, and service, combined with Wynnchurch’s experience, position it to be a strong platform.”

Uponor, the seller of the Canadian assets to Wynnchurch, is a provider of plumbing and other indoor climate-related products to the residential and commercial building markets in Europe and North America. The company also makes underground infrastructure products for use in plastic pipelines, storm water systems, industrial applications, and municipal piping systems. Uponor, with more than 4,000 employees worldwide, is headquartered near Helsinki in Vantaa, Finland. The company’s North American operations are headquartered in Apple Valley, MN (www.uponor.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | September 6, 2018