LFM Capital has acquired Fecon, a maker of heavy-duty forestry equipment. Abacus Finance Group provided the senior debt to support this acquisition.
Fecon designs and manufactures heavy-duty forestry mulching equipment and related forestry accessories including its patented line of Bull Hog attachments (which include carrier, skid steer and excavator mounted rotational brush cutting and forestry mulching attachments), replacement parts, APEX hydro-seeding and environmental spray applicators, and a range of mounted attachments such as stump grinders, grapples and shears.
Fecon’s products are used for vegetation management, erosion control, general land clearing, and habitat restoration. Fecon, founded in 1992, has 210 employees and is headquartered northeast of Cincinnati in Lebanon, OH (www.fecon.com).
“We are proud of what we have built at Fecon over the last 25 years,” said Fecon’s President, John Heekin. “We have developed engineering, manufacturing and customer support teams that provide an excellent product and experience for our customers. We are excited to partner with LFM to grow the business and because of the operational experience they bring to help us continue our growth.”
“Fecon is a clear leader in its niche and is highly regarded for the exceptional quality and performance of its products,” said LFM Managing Director Dan Shockley. “Partnering with the outstanding team at Fecon, which has a strong record of operational expertise and execution, we plan to further invest in product development and manufacturing with a focus on growing into new markets and executing operational initiatives.”
Abacus Finance Group was the Administrative Agent and Lead Arranger for senior secured credit facilities to support the leveraged buyout of Fecon by LFM. “This was our second transaction with LFM Capital, and once again they demonstrated how well they understand manufacturing. Fecon is a quality company and a leader in its field, one that fits perfectly with our focus on the lower-middle market,” said Tim Clifford, President and CEO of Abacus Finance.
“It was good to work again with the Abacus team, which knows the manufacturing space well,” said LFM Capital Executive Managing Director Steve Cook. “The due diligence process went smoothly and communications – including early assurance of closure – were clear from the beginning.”
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. Since its inception in June 2011, Abacus has closed over $1.9 billion in financings. Abacus is headquartered in New York and is an affiliate of New York Private Bank & Trust (www.abacusfinance.com).
“As in other transactions, our success was a function of our speed, flexibility, and certainty of close – key aspects of what we call our Total Partnership Approach™,” said Eric Petersen, Senior Vice President of Abacus Finance.
LFM is based in Nashville and invests in US-based manufacturing and industrial services companies with at least $3 million of EBITDA and enterprise values from $15 million to $125 million. LFM was formed in May 2014 by Steve Cook, Executive Managing Director; Rick Reisner, Managing Director; and Dan Shockley, Managing Director (www.lfmcapital.com). In October 2018, the LFM closed its second fund, LFM Capital Partners II LP, with $184 million in capital commitments. The firm’s earlier fund closed in October 2014 with $110 million of capital commitments.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | November 9, 2018
