Archives for October 14, 2021

Windjammer Continues Connector Consolidation

by

Hermetic Solutions, a portfolio company of Windjammer Capital, has acquired FilConn, a manufacturer of specialty connectors, from PEI-Genesis.

FilConn specializes in filtered, electromagnetic pulse (EMP) suppression, and custom connectors used in aerospace and military applications as well as in medical, transit and oil & gas applications. The company operates a 20,000 sq.-ft. facility near Phoenix in Chandler, Arizona.

FilConn was founded in 2003 and acquired by PEI-Genesis, a Philadelphia-based distributor of harsh environment connectors, in 2016. With the close of the sale to Hermetic Solutions, PEI-Genesis has agreed to continue as a distributor of FilConn’s products.

Hermetic Solutions Group (HSG) is a provider of hermetic (airtight) packaging and components that are designed to ensure that critical electronic systems function reliably in demanding environments where it is essential to control for factors such as weight, space, vibration, temperature, moisture and off-gassing. Windjammer acquired HSG in February 2019 from Shoreview Industries.

HSG’s products – sold under the Hi-Rel, Pacific Aerospace & Electronics (Pacaero), Litron, Sinclair and Cristek Interconnects brands – are used in defense platforms, as well as niche applications in medical devices, optical networking and industrial products. HSG is led by CEO Keith Barclay and is headquartered near Philadelphia in Trevose, Pennsylvania.

“We are very excited to have FilConn join the HSG family of brands,” said Mr. Barclay. “As an industry leader in highly engineered connector solutions for mission-critical applications, FilConn augments our specialty interconnect initiative and further enhances HSG’s core value proposition.”

The acquisition of FilConn is the second add-on acquisition completed by HSG in the past nine months and follows the December 2020 buy of Cristek Interconnects, a California-headquartered maker of electronic connectors used in defense and aerospace applications that specializes in nano-miniature and micro-miniature connectors.

“FilConn is a strategic addition to HSG’s interconnect solutions offering and representative of the type of unique, differentiated and well-positioned franchise we seek to acquire,” said Craig Majernik, a managing director at Windjammer. “Our M&A strategy is focused on expanding HSG’s suite of highly engineered performance and protection solutions designed to ensure mission-critical electronic systems in aerospace and defense, medical and industrial applications function reliably in extreme environments.”

Windjammer invests equity and subordinated debt as a control investor in middle-market businesses located in the US or Canada that have EBITDA from $8 million to $50 million. Sectors of interest include niche manufacturing, business services and value-added distribution. The firm’s investment size ranges from $50 million to $200 million per transaction. Windjammer was founded in 1990 and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts and Newport Beach, California.

© 2021 Private Equity Professional | October 14, 2021

Custom Glass Acquires Cameron Glass

by

Custom Glass Solutions, a portfolio company of Stellex Capital Management, has acquired Cameron Glass.

CamGlass is a fabricator of tempered glass products including flat, press, sag, and cylindrically bent systems used in agricultural equipment, laboratory equipment, construction equipment, marine equipment, and basketball backboards.

Other value-added services provided by the company include assembly, drilling, and screen printing. CamGlass was founded in 1978 by President Jim Cameron and his father, Roy Cameron, and today has 125 employees at its facility near Tulsa in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

Custom Glass Solutions (CGS) is a producer of large-format, laminated glass systems, as well as flat, bent, and tempered glass systems. CGS products include large, one-piece windshields, door glass, insulating glass, and roof glass as well as more advanced technologies like coated glass, various forms of heated glass, and glass with embedded LEDs. CGS’ products are used in many specialty transportation segments including RV, bus, truck, construction and agriculture, and off-highway and municipal vehicles.

CGS, led by CEO Neale Yeomans, was founded in 1974 and is headquartered 65 miles north of Columbus in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. Stellex acquired CGS from Guardian Glass, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, in October 2018.

“As a family-owned company, CamGlass shares similar values and beliefs as we do at CGS,” said Mr. Yeomans. “In many respects, CamGlass is a perfect fit for CGS as we continue to expand our offerings.”

The add-acquisition of CamGlass follows CGS’s May 2019 buy of NASG, a Pennsylvania-based maker of safety and security glass used in light and heavy rail cars, locomotives, and military and commercial vehicles, from Consolidated Glass Holdings.

“The acquisition of CamGlass is another important step in achieving CGS’s strategic growth objectives,” added Mr. Yeomans. “With CamGlass, we enhance our tempering capabilities and our ability to offer value-add assemblies, allowing CGS to be a one-stop-shop for customers’ glass needs.”

Stellex invests from $50 million to $150 million in United States or Europe-based companies with enterprise values from $50 million to $500 million and revenues greater than $100 million. Sectors of interest include manufacturing and service businesses within the automotive, aerospace, building products, consumer, defense, food, general industrial, and transportation industries. The firm has more than $2.6 billion in assets under management with offices in New York, Detroit, and London.

© 2021 Private Equity Professional | October 14, 2021

Manulife Closes Second Co-Investment Fund

by

Manulife Investment Management (Manulife) has held an above-target and oversubscribed close of Manulife Co-Investment Partners II LP with just over US$683 million in capital. The new fund’s original target was US$600 million.

Fundraising for MCIP II began in 2020 and the new fund is backed by a diversified group of institutional and private investors. MCIP II will continue the firm’s strategy of making co-investments in North American-based middle-market companies. Manulife’s first co-investment fund closed in 2016 but the firm has been making direct private equity investments in the North American middle market since 2006.

Today, Manulife operates a range of investment strategies including private equity and credit, infrastructure, real estate, timberland, and agriculture. With the closing of MCIP II, the group’s private equity and credit platform now has US$16 billion of assets under management across five verticals; private equity funds, equity co-investments, GP-led secondaries, senior credit, and junior credit.

“We are pleased to have closed our new fund above target – and well in excess of the size of our first equity co-investment fund,” said Stephen Blewitt, the global head of private markets at Manulife. “The successful fundraise demonstrates the strength of our platform and the potential opportunities for our investors.”

“We appreciate the continued partnership and support from our investors,” said Scott Garfield, senior managing director, private equity and credit, at Manulife. Our differentiated team, with extensive experience making direct equity investments in the North American middle market, enables Manulife Investment Management to bring these opportunities to clients interested in the diversification, risk profile and potential outperformance of equity co-investment strategies.”

Mr. Garfield is active as the portfolio manager of MCIP II. In addition to Mr. Garfield, Manulife’s co-investment team includes Vipon Ghai, the global head of private equity and credit, and members of his senior management team.

“We are proud of our longstanding relationships with global private equity partners,” said Mr. Ghai. “Over the last 15 years, we have invested more than US$2 billion in over 100 co-investments thanks in great part to our synergistic private equity and credit platform, which leverages our enhanced sourcing capabilities and deal flow opportunities across private assets.”

Manulife Investment Management is the wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE: MFC), a multinational insurance company and financial services provider headquartered in Toronto. The company operates in the United States through its John Hancock Financial division, and in Canada and Asia as Manulife.

© 2021 Private Equity Professional | October 14, 2021

O2 Builds Business Development Group

by

O2 Investment Partners has formed a new business development group and has named Derek Wardlaw to lead the group.

Mr. Wardlaw will be responsible for sourcing investment opportunities and developing relationships with deal-making entities across the lower middle market.

Prior to joining O2, Mr. Wardlaw led business development at Miami-based Boyne Capital beginning in 2017. Earlier, he was the director of business development at H.I.G. Capital in London and prior to that he focused on corporate divestitures in the business development group at H.I.G. Capital in Miami.

Mr. Wardlaw has his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Samford University and his MBA from George Washington University.

“Derek’s successful track record of building and developing a deal sourcing group will be instrumental to our growing origination efforts and to increase the visibility of O2 in the lower middle market deal community,” said Luke Plumpton, a partner at O2.

“I was drawn to O2’s hands-on, relationship-driven focus on deal sourcing and origination,” said Mr. Wardlaw. “I am excited to join the O2 team and contribute to the firm’s continued success in helping family and founder-owned companies meet their objectives and deliver results.”

O2 makes control investments in companies with enterprise values from $10 million to $100 million and EBITDA from $4 million to $15 million that are located anywhere in the US and Canada. Sectors of interest include business-to-business services, technology, and niche industrial companies. In January 2021, O2 held a final closing of O2 Investment Partners Fund III LP with $270 million in capital commitments. O2 is based in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills and was founded in 2010.

© 2021 Private Equity Professional | October 14, 2021