Turnspire Closes Buy of Goodyear Air Springs
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Turnspire Closes Buy of Goodyear Air Springs

Turnspire Capital Partners has formed Infinity Engineered Products (IEP) to acquire the Goodyear Air Springs business from publicly traded EnPro Industries.

Goodyear air springs are used by original equipment manufacturers and fleet operators for trucks, trailers, buses, and specialty vehicles. The company’s products are sold under an exclusive license from Akron-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber which developed its air-spring technology in 1957.

Through this transaction, IEP acquired all the assets of Goodyear Air Springs, including full brand licensing rights; all technical and manufacturing facilities in the US and Mexico; and all intellectual property for $32 million in cash and a $7.5 million seller note. David Brinkman, Goodyear Air Springs’ general manager will lead IEP as its new CEO in partnership with Turnspire.

“We are very excited about Goodyear Air Springs as part of Infinity, the exciting new platform that Turnspire created,” said Mr. Brinkman. “Turnspire is an ideal partner for our talented team, given the firm’s strong track record building world-class independently operated industrial companies.  Turnspire’s highly relevant experience, commitment to operational excellence and significant resources will enable us to deploy an ambitious growth plan underpinned on investing in technology and innovation.”

Goodyear Air Springs was acquired by The Carlyle Group in 2007 through its buy of Veyance, a Goodyear subsidiary. In 2014, Continental AG, a Germany-headquartered automotive parts manufacturer, acquired Veyance for $1.9 billion. EnPro acquired Goodyear Air Springs in 2015 from Continental AG for $20 million. At that time, Goodyear Air Springs had annual revenues of approximately $100 million and EBITDA of $4.8 million (a valuation multiple of 4.1x).

New York City-based Turnspire invests in companies with revenues between $50 million and $400 million and valuations up to $125 million. The firm prefers companies that are underperformers and/or in need of an operational turnaround.  Sectors of interest include aerospace and defense; automotive; capital equipment; chemicals; consumer; construction and building materials; food and beverage; industrial equipment; logistics; metals and metal fabrication; paper and packaging; and plastics and synthetic materials.

“We are thrilled to acquire Goodyear Air Springs, which has a leading market position, world-class engineering and testing capabilities, and a robust portfolio of industry-leading products,” said Abel Osorio, a partner at Turnspire. “Through our new company Infinity Engineered Products, we look forward to building on the Goodyear Air Springs legacy by increasing the business’ already substantial investment in research and development, technology and new product development, and other initiatives. We are incredibly excited to support the Infinity team as it pursues attractive growth opportunities and strategic acquisitions.”

Charlotte-headquartered EnPro (NYSE: NPO) designs and manufactures a range of industrial products used in the aerospace, power generation, heavy-duty trucking, mining, and chemical sectors. In 2019 the company had revenues of more than $1.2 billion. The company was founded in 2002 through the spin-out of the engineered industrial products business segment of the Goodrich Corporation.

Fidus Securities was the financial advisor to EnPro on this transaction.

© 2020 Private Equity Professional | November 23, 2020

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