Nautic Partners has sold its portfolio company Custom Window Systems to Pella Corporation. Nautic acquired Custom in July 2014 from Highlander Partners.
Custom Window Systems is a manufacturer of impact-resistant and non-impact, vinyl and aluminum, windows, doors, and porch enclosures. The company’s products are primarily used in the repair and remodeling markets in the single-family and multi-family housing sectors in Florida and other coastal regions that maintain strict building codes due to exposure to high winds, tropical storms, and hurricanes.
Custom, led by CEO John Manzi, was founded in 1986 and has a 375,000 square foot manufacturing facility and headquarters in Ocala, FL (www.cws.cc). “We greatly enjoyed working with the Nautic team. They have been a stellar partner throughout Custom’s evolution over the past several years,” said Mr. Manzi. “We look forward to the next chapter for Custom under Pella ownership.”
“We thank John Manzi, Roger Sim, and the entire team for their accomplishments. Thanks to them, the company is well-positioned for continued growth, with high-quality products, a streamlined and efficient production facility, and plenty of capacity. It has been a pleasure partnering with them to achieve the goals that we had,” said Chris Pierce, a managing director of Nautic.
Nautic is a middle-market private equity firm that makes majority equity investments of $25 million to $75 million in companies that are active in the healthcare, industrial products, and outsourced services sectors. In March 2019, the firm held a final closing of Nautic Partners IX LP at its hard cap with $1.5 billion of limited partner commitments. Nautic is headquartered in Providence, RI (www.nautic.com).
“Custom enhances our product offering and increases our penetration in the large and growing Florida area,” said Tim Yaggi, president and CEO of Pella. “We expect to grow faster together by leveraging Pella’s capabilities and Custom’s regional knowledge, impact-resistant product lines and strong customer relationships.”
Pella is a privately held maker of windows and doors with 15 manufacturing locations, more than 200 showrooms, and nearly 7,000 employees. The company is headquartered in Pella, IA (www.pella.com).
BlackArch Partners and KeyBanc Capital Markets were the financial advisors to both Custom and Nautic.
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | October 4, 2019
Court Square Capital Partners has agreed to sell National Seating & Mobility (NSM) to Cinven. Court Square acquired NSM in September 2016 from Wellspring Capital Management.
“This is an attractive opportunity for Cinven to invest in NSM, a leading player in the complex rehab technology market in North America,” said Alex Leslie, a partner at Cinven. “NSM operates in an industry we have been evaluating deeply for several years through our work in the healthcare sector in both Europe and the US.”
Cinven invests in excess of €100 million of equity in companies with enterprise values typically greater than €300 million Sectors of interest include business services, financial services, healthcare, industrials, consumer, technology, media and telecommunications. The firm, founded in 1977, has nine international offices, including one in New York City, and is headquartered in London (
“We are looking forward to partnering with NSM’s highly experienced management team to accelerate the company’s growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions,” said John Richardson, a senior principal at Cinven. “Cinven will invest significantly in the business to ensure that NSM remains at the forefront of providing best-in-class complex mobility solutions.”
Court Square, the seller of NSM, invests in middle-market companies that have enterprise values of $150 million to $1.5 billion. Sectors of interest include business services, general industrials, healthcare, and technology/telecommunications. The firm is based in New York (
AEA Investors has acquired BMS Enterprises, a national provider of disaster recovery services.
Engineered Specialty Products (ESP), a portfolio company of Tonka Bay, has acquired Weksler Glass Thermometer. Tonka Bay acquired ESP in December 2012 through its third fund.
Engineered Specialty Products (ESP) is a manufacturer of pressure and temperature instruments used in the MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations), process, and industrial sectors. The company has more than 12,000 SKUs that are sold under the brands PIC and Bourdon. ESP is headquartered in Kennesaw, GA (
The buy of Weksler expands ESP’s product line and creates opportunities for the sale of ESP products through Weksler ‘s distribution network. “We are very excited to partner with Weksler to continue to build our collective business, diversify our customer base and expand our product reach,” said Brien Whitford, president of ESP. “The Weksler brand has a reputation for manufacturing high-quality products that presents a great opportunity to grow our platform and build momentum for 2019 and beyond.”
Tonka Bay invests in companies that have revenues of more than $10 million and EBITDA of more than $2 million. Sectors of interest include specialty food manufacturing, industrial distribution, highly engineered sensors, safety products, and specialty chemicals. The firm was founded in 1998 and is based in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka (
