Corinthian Capital has sold Eastern Wholesale Fence, a manufacturer and distributor of residential and commercial fence products, to Center Rock Capital Partners and Leelanau Private Capital. Corinthian acquired Eastern Wholesale in April 2017.
Eastern Wholesale Fence supplies a full line of wood, vinyl, and chain-link fences; aluminum and steel ornamental products; welded mesh, guide rail, and post and rail fences.
Company-owned brand names include EverStrong, Illusions, System21, Eastern White Cedar, Eastern Ornamental, and Eastern Chain-Link. Eastern Wholesale, led by CEO Peter Williams, Jr., was founded in 1971 by Peter Williams, Sr. and is headquartered on Long Island in Medford, New York. Eastern recently announced plans to establish a new manufacturing facility in North Carolina.
“My father started Eastern 50 years ago, and I’m proud of the company we built,” said Mr. Williams. “The Corinthian team was able to build on our long history of success, facilitate a generational transition in ownership and management, and transition our successful family business into a national player. I appreciate their help in growing our business while preserving our values and culture.”
“We are pleased that Corinthian could provide the strong management team at Eastern with the resources and expertise to grow the business from a respected regional player to an industry leader,” said Kenneth Clay, founder and partner at Corinthian. “Over the past three and a half years, the company experienced strong organic growth while introducing new quality products and integrating new manufacturing processes. We were fortunate to have been able to partner with Peter and his team and are proud of the work the Corinthian team was able to provide, and the successful outcome that we achieved together.”
Corinthian Capital targets investments in North America-based companies with EBITDA between $5 million and $30 million that are active in the light manufacturing and assembly, distribution, and services sectors. The firm was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in New York City with an additional office in Boston.
Center Rock makes control and non-control equity investments in North American-based industrial manufacturing, industrial services and industrial distribution companies that have revenues of $25 million to $500 million and EBITDA of up to $50 million (including negative EBITDA). The firm is investing from its first fund, Center Rock Capital Partners Fund I LP, which closed in 2018 with an oversubscribed $580 million of limited partner capital. Center Rock was founded in August 2017 and has offices in Chicago and in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills.
Leelanau Private Capital invests in companies with revenues from $10 million to $200 million. Sectors of specific interest include building products, precision machining, and distribution. The firm was founded in August 2020 by its managing partner Steve LaBarre and is headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham, Michigan.
Lincoln International and Raymond James were the advisors to Corinthian and Eastern on this transaction and Clifford Chance provided legal services.
© 2020 Private Equity Professional | November 10, 2020
