Goldner Hawn and Tonka Bay Equity Partners have sold Quest Events to TZP Group. Goldner Hawn and Tonka Bay acquired Quest in partnership with the company’s management team in June 2015 from PVB Capital, Gemini Investors, and Harbert Mezzanine Partners.
Quest Events is a provider of rental, distribution, and logistics services for pipe and drape; modular and dimensional panels and tiles; furniture; and other décor and accessory items used in the hospitality, events, bridal and exhibition industries.
Quest Events is led by CEO Lee Dunlap and CFO Mark Pasterik and was founded in 1998. The company has 24 locations across the US and Canada and is headquartered north of Dallas in Frisco, TX (www.questevents.com).
“Goldner Hawn and Tonka Bay have been great capital partners, board members and allowed me and the management team to focus on running the business while supporting our desire to invest via acquisitions, new locations, inventory, and personnel,” said Mr. Dunlap.
Under Goldner Hawn and Tonka Bay ownership, Quest experienced significant growth through the opening of seven branch locations, and the completion of four add-on acquisitions which expanded its product lines and increased its geographic reach. The two most recent add-ons were the June 2018 buy of TOTALLY MOD, an Orlando, FL-based provider of furniture, scenic and décor products, and the February 2018 buy of FormSet, a New York-based provider of modular, dimensional panels.
“Quest was a great investment and partnership for Goldner Hawn, Tonka Bay and the Quest management team,” said Jason Brass, a partner at Goldner Hawn. “During our ownership period Quest’s management team was able to accelerate its growth trajectory nearly doubling in size through new product offerings, international expansion and complementary acquisitions.”
Goldner Hawn invests from $10 million to $30 million in companies that have EBITDA greater than $5 million. Sectors of interest include specialty manufacturing, value-added distribution, consumer products, and business services. The firm was founded in 1989 and is based in Minneapolis (www.goldnerhawn.com).
“Quest has a market leading position, depth of products, and geographic reach providing its customers the best service and value proposition in the special events space,” said Steve Soderling, a partner at Tonka Bay. “It has been a pleasure working with Lee and the Quest management team. They have been great partners and are well-positioned to continue to leverage their market leading position to drive the next stage of their growth.”
Tonka Bay invests in manufacturing, value-added distribution and business services companies that have EBITDAs greater than $2 million. The firm is based in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka (www.tonkabayequity.com).
“We are thrilled about our investment in Quest and partnership with a terrific management team,” said Vlad Gutin, a partner with TZP. “We look forward to building on the company’s impressive track record and solidifying Quest’s leadership position by supporting its continued organic growth and strategic acquisition efforts.”
TZP Group makes control investments of between $20 million and $100 million in companies with enterprise values between $50 million and $250 million and EBITDA between $8 million and $35 million. Sectors of interest include business and consumer services. The firm is headquartered in New York (www.tzpgroup.com).
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | January 9, 2019
