Rotunda Capital Partners has acquired MacQueen Equipment, a distributor of industrial and emergency equipment.
MacQueen sells Elgin street sweepers, Vactor trucks, Oshkosh snow removal equipment and Heil refuse trucks to municipalities and commercial customers, including utilities and contractors throughout Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. The company also sells Pierce fire apparatus throughout Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Missouri.
In addition to its equipment sales activities, MacQueen provides a suite of services, including maintenance, parts and supplies, and used equipment sales and rentals. MacQueen was founded in 1961 by Jack MacQueen and is headquartered in St. Paul, MN (www.macqueeneq.com).
“As we evaluated our options for growing the company, it became clear that Rotunda was an ideal partner for us to assist our company in the next stage of expansion,” said Curt Steffen, retiring CEO of MacQueen. Dan Gage, the current President of MacQueen’s Emergency Group, has been named the new CEO of MacQueen. The management team at MacQueen will retain an equity interest in the company in partnership with Rotunda and will continue leading the business. “Rotunda brings tremendous expertise to our business segments,” said Mr. Gage. “We’ve outlined a strategy together that will allow the management team to aggressively expand to new regions while continuing to invest in our core market.”
“Our unique expertise in investing in distribution and specialty finance companies fits perfectly with MacQueen’s business model of selling equipment and parts over a multi-state territory and operating a large national rental fleet,” said John Fruehwirth, managing partner at Rotunda Capital. “Over the last decade, Rotunda has built and executed playbooks in these industries. We are confident our experience and resources will help MacQueen and the management team expand the company’s reach and offerings and provide a solid platform for even more growth.”
According to Rotunda, many industry trends are driving demand for MacQueen’s products. Municipal regulations such as safe digging laws, EPA guidelines for removal of pollutants from streets, and aging sewers are driving growth in the sales of new equipment and parts as well as servicing of existing equipment. Growth in utility services, construction, and municipal regulations are driving a strong demand for rental units.
“This transaction continues Rotunda’s foundation of acquiring family and founder-owned companies and partnering with strong management teams to expand on their existing value proposition,” added Dan Lipson, partner at Rotunda Capital. “Over the last half-century, MacQueen’s team has built a leading regional equipment and rental business that is truly impressive, and they are well-positioned to serve their customers’ growing demand for high-quality products, services and parts. We’re committed to helping them achieve new heights through both organic growth and potential acquisitions.”
Rotunda Capital invests in businesses with enterprise values of $15 million to $100 million. Sectors of interest include logistics, value-added distribution, specialty finance, and business services. Since founding in 2009, Rotunda has completed eleven platform investments and realized four exits. The firm is headquartered in Bethesda, MD with an office in Evanston, IL (www.rotundacapital.com).
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | November 5, 2018