April 20, 2022
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Archives for April 20, 2022

TJC Forms New Platform, Carves Four Businesses from Trimble

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The Jordan Company (TJC) has formed Precisional as a new platform company to carve out four business units of publicly traded Trimble. The four units include Time and Frequency, LOADRITE, Spectra Precision Tools and SECO accessories.

Trimble’s Time and Frequency products – timing receivers, antennas, and precision timing protocol (PTP) clocks – utilize data from the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) to provide precise time, synchronization and frequency reference signals that are used in communication systems, data centers, financial networks, utilities, and factory automation to maximize timing, synchronization and operational efficiencies.

The Spectra Precision Tools business designs and manufactures leveling, positioning, and alignment instruments – which use laser and optical technology – that are used by general contractors and specialty contractors for exterior and underground construction projects.

Trimble’s LOADRITE business provides scales for loaders, excavators, conveyor belts, tractors, refuse trucks and forklifts that are integrated with payload-reporting and monitoring systems in the waste, quarry and aggregates sectors. LOADRITE products eliminate the need for a separate trip to a fixed scale location.

The SECO business manufactures a variety of accessory products including tripods, telescopic poles, prisms, carrying cases, antenna poles, safety vests and leveling rods that are used in conjunction with surveying and construction instruments.

TJC is partnering on the formation of Precisional with industry executive Drew Ladau. “The Trimble businesses which will join Precisional have a long heritage of innovation, and each is a leader in the markets it serves,” said Mr. Ladau. “I’m excited to build upon this strong foundation alongside the dedicated employees that have served their customers so well over the years. In addition, we plan to accelerate the pace of innovation and growth with the focus of resources and investment on these core businesses supported by TJC.”

“The acquisition of four industry-leading businesses from Trimble by Precisional forms the foundation of a new platform focused on precise measurement and analytical insights to improve productivity across a broad range of applications that rely upon accuracy and reliability,” said Erik Fagan, a partner at TJC. “By supporting existing management to make investments in Precisional’s operations and product development to integrate precision measurement with data solutions and enhanced connectivity, we intend to accelerate growth opportunities while also pursuing synergistic acquisitions.”

The Jordan Company is a middle-market private equity firm that invests in a range of industries including industrials, transportation and logistics, healthcare, consumer, telecom, technology, and utilities. The firm was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Chicago and Stamford.

Trimble’s sale of these four business units is in line with its corporate strategy to focus on its core businesses. “We are continually evaluating our product portfolio as we work on the execution of Trimble’s Connect and Scale 2025 strategy,” said Rob Painter, the president and CEO of Trimble. “Trimble is focusing its efforts on the company’s connected industry platforms and digital transformation capabilities.”

Trimble’s (NASDAQ: TRMB) products and services are used in positioning, modeling, connectivity and data analytics applications in the surveying, construction, agriculture, transportation, telecommunications, asset tracking, and mapping sectors. The company had sales in 2021 of $3.7 billion. Sunnyvale, California-headquartered Trimble was founded in 1978 by Charles Trimble and two partners from Hewlett Packard.

Lincoln International was the financial advisor to Trimble and BMO Capital Markets was the financial advisor to TJC.

This transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.

© 2022 Private Equity Professional | April 20, 2022

AEI Sells Utility Services Platform to Westinghouse Electric

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AE Industrial Partners (AEI) has agreed to sell its portfolio company BHI Energy to Westinghouse Electric Company, a portfolio company of Brookfield Business Partners.

BHI Energy is a specialty utility services company that provides onsite services to support the daily operations, routine maintenance and capital investment requirements of nuclear, fossil and renewable power facilities, as well as government decommissioning projects.

The company’s staffing services include both professional and technical staffing, and recruitment process outsourcing. BHI’s workforce includes more than 8,500 project management and technical, professional and craft employees operating at more than 150 global project locations.

The company, led by CEO Bob Decensi and founded in 1979, is headquartered south of Boston in Weymouth, Massachusetts.

“We are grateful for the outstanding partnership we have enjoyed with AEI and its support in growing our service offerings and geographic footprint,” said Mr. Decensi. “We look forward to moving ahead with our new owners as we continue to address the evolving end-to-end needs of our customers.”

AEI, through its first fund, acquired BHI from Harvest Partners in July 2017. During its ownership term BHI grew both organically and through five add-on acquisitions including Florida-based DBE Utility Services (2021), Alabama-based Coastal Electrical Construction (2020), California-based TechCom International (2020), Texas-based Plaska Transmission Line (2019), and New York-based D&D Power (2018).

“AEI is proud to have worked with BHI as it completed five add-on acquisitions in the transmission and distribution and engineering spaces and continued to grow its market share in the nuclear and renewables markets,” said Michael Greene, a managing partner of AEI. “BHI has cemented its reputation as a market-leading service provider in the utility sector focused on carbon-neutral technologies, and we know the company will continue to perform at the highest level going forward.”

Westinghouse Electric Company is a provider of nuclear products and services to utilities including service and maintenance, instrumentation, control and design of power plants. The company, headquartered in the Pittsburgh suburb of Cranberry Woods, was acquired in 2018 by Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE: BBU), a publicly traded spin-out of Brookfield Asset Management and the owner of its business services and industrial portfolio companies.

Boca Raton-based AEI invests in the aerospace and defense, power generation, and specialty industrial sectors. Typical company targets will have from $50 million to $500 million of revenue. In July 2018, the firm held a final hard-cap closing of its second private equity fund, AE Industrial Partners Fund II LP, with $1.36 billion in commitments.

Baird and Harris Williams were the financial advisors to AEI.

© 2022 Private Equity Professional | April 20, 2022

Soundcore Builds Partner Ranks

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Soundcore Capital Partners has expanded its senior team with the additions of Eric Korsten, Alex Bues, and Jeff Long as partners. The three new partners will be active with all new Soundcore platform investments.

“We are thrilled to have such an impressive team of accomplished private equity executives join us and we look forward to accelerating our platform creation investment mandate,” said Jarrett Turner, the founder and managing partner of Soundcore. “Collectively, the Soundcore senior team now has over 135 years of combined industry experience, including collaborative roles working together at predecessor companies.”

Mr. Korsten joins Soundcore after more than ten years at Branford Castle Partners where most recently he was a senior managing director and member of its investment committee. Mr. Bues has led the business development effort at multiple private equity firms, including Wellspring Capital Management from 2019 to 2022, and Balance Point Capital from 2018 to 2019. Mr. Long graduated at the top of his class at West Point, was a former Army Ranger, a partner at McKinsey & Co. for over a decade and led operating teams at Vestar Capital Partners and Centerbridge Partners.

Soundcore specializes in North America-based buy-and-build investments in the lower middle-market. Target companies typically have revenues up to $150 million. Since its founding in 2015 by Jarrett Turner the firm has completed 69 acquisitions across 9 platforms and focuses primarily on the industrial services, business services, distribution and value-add manufacturing sectors.

“Soundcore Capital Partners is an exciting opportunity to work with lower middle-market companies where a little coaching and capital can help them really bend the growth curve,” said Mr. Long. “I am honored to join this talented team. We have deep, complementary experiences that will fuel the continued success of Soundcore’s thesis-driven, buy and build investment strategy.”

“I am delighted to be joining Soundcore Capital Partners, a best-in-class private equity firm known for its thorough and thoughtful approach to investing,” said Mr. Bues. “I look forward to working closely with the excellent team at Soundcore to find high-quality businesses and grow them into market leaders”.

New York City-headquartered Soundcore is currently investing from its second fund which closed in July 2018 with $350 million of capital.

© 2022 Private Equity Professional | April 20, 2022

BGL Hires New Healthcare Banker

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Investment bank Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) has added Jonathan Bluth to its healthcare and life sciences team as a managing director. Mr. Bluth will be based in Los Angeles.

Mr. Bluth has more than 22 years of M&A and capital markets experience in the healthcare industry, advising physician groups, revenue cycle companies, diagnostics businesses, and other specialty service providers.

Before joining BGL, Mr. Bluth was the co-head of healthcare at Intrepid Investment Bankers, and earlier he was a senior vice president at Deloitte Corporate Finance and held senior corporate finance positions with Vantage Oncology and Alliance HealthCare Services.

“BGL continues to build out our team across all of our coverage sectors in healthcare and life sciences and Jonathan’s experience and relationships will support our growth trajectory,” said John Riddle, the head of BGL’s healthcare and life sciences vertical. “Jonathan’s multidisciplinary background provides him with a unique perspective, enabling him to leverage his consulting, corporate finance, and investment banking experience to advise clients regarding their strategic growth objectives. Our clients will benefit tremendously from his insight and extensive network, and we are thrilled to have him on board.”

“I am very excited to join the strong healthcare practice at BGL,” said Mr. Bluth. “I look forward to bringing BGL’s sophistication, breadth, and depth to future healthcare clients to help them find strong partners, unlock maximum values for their businesses, and exceed their strategic objectives.”

Mr. Bluth has his undergraduate degree in history and sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from UCLA.

Brown Gibbons Lang is a mid-market investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, capital markets, financial restructurings, valuations, and fairness opinions. The firm was founded in 1989 and has investment banking offices in Chicago, Cleveland, and Philadelphia.

© 2022 Private Equity Professional | April 20, 2022

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