Stellex has acquired Custom Glass Solutions, a subsidiary of Guardian Glass, which in turn is owned by Koch Industries.
Custom Glass Solutions (CGS) is a producer of large-format, laminated glass systems, as well as flat, bent, and tempered glass systems. CGS products include large, one-piece windshields, door glass, insulating glass, and roof glass as well as more advanced technologies like coated glass, various forms of heated glass, and glass with embedded LEDs.
The company’s products are used in many different specialty transportation segments, including RV, bus, truck, construction and agriculture, and other off-highway and municipal vehicles. CGS is headquartered in Upper Sandusky, OH (www.customglasssolutions.com).
The CGS management team, led by CEO Neale Yeomans, invested in the transaction and will continue to lead the business. “We are tremendously excited about the acquisition of Custom Glass Solutions,” said Michael Stewart, Managing Partner at Stellex. “We believe CGS is an exceptional business with deep industry know-how and excellent customer support. We look forward to partnering with CGS and its management team and employees to deliver the company’s next chapter of growth through the combination of a customer-focused approach and operational excellence.”
Stellex invests from $25 million to $100 million in United States or Europe-based companies with enterprise values from $50 million to $500 million. Sectors of interest include automotive, aerospace, building products, defense, industrial equipment, metal fabrication and transportation. Stellex has offices in New York and London (www.stellexcapital.com).
“This transaction will enable CGS to leverage its newfound status as a standalone business to unlock several untapped growth opportunities,” added Michael Livanos, a member of the Stellex investment team. “CGS is a clear leader in the specialty glass market and one of the few companies capable of producing very large formats, challenging shapes, and technology-enabled solutions.”
Debt financing for this transaction was provided by Czech Asset Management. Czech has approximately $4.5 billion of committed capital under management and makes asset-based and cash-flow, first and second lien floating-rate senior secured loans primarily to US-based middle market companies that have annual revenue of $75 million to $500 million and EBITDA of $7.5 million to $50 million. The firm was founded in December 2011 by Stephen Czech and is headquartered in Old Greenwich, CT (www.czechamlp.com).
Lincoln International (www.lincolninternational.com) was the financial advisor to Guardian Glass.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | October 23, 2018
