Caymus Equity Partners has made an investment in Overland Vehicle Systems (OVS) in partnership with founder and CEO Sean Angues.
OVS is a branded supplier of outdoor and automotive aftermarket parts and accessories used for overlanding, camping, cargo management, recovery gear, and air management. Company-owned brands includes King 4WD, a Jeep accessory supplier; Up Down Air, an air management company; and Overland Vehicle Systems. OVS is headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, California.
Mr. Angues is the past president of Smittybilt Automotive Group which was acquired by Transamerican Auto Parts (TAP) in 2007. He remained with TAP until 2018 when he left to form OVS.
TAP, founded in 1961, was owned by automotive entrepreneur Greg Adler until being acquired by Bear Sterns Merchant Banking (now Irving Place Capital) in 2005. TAP was the owner of numerous automotive aftermarket brands including Pro Comp, a maker of suspension equipment and wheels that TAP launched in 1988; Smittybilt, a maker of bumpers and armor, tents, and awnings (acquired by TAP in 2007), and Poison Spyder, a maker of steering components (acquired by TAP in 2018).
In 2016, TAP was acquired by publicly traded Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII) and was sold by Polaris last month to Clearlake Capital-backed Wheel Pros.
“We jumped at the opportunity to partner with the team that is credited with transforming industry-leading brands at Transamerican like Smittybilt, Poison Spyder, and Pro Comp Suspension into what they are today,” said Chris Faux, a principal at Caymus Equity and the leader of the OVC transaction team. “We’re excited to back Sean and his team, who were integral members of the management team that made Transamerican such a success story through its eventual sale in 2016. Unsurprisingly, the team has repeated that success at OVS and has an attractive vision to become the newest premier company in the aftermarket.”
The investment in OVS is Caymus Equity’s thirteenth platform investment and first investment out of Caymus Equity Partners Fund II LP.
“This transaction is a significant step forward for Caymus Equity,” said Ollie Maggard, a managing partner at Caymus. “Not only did we find a great company with a great management team; this transaction marks the first investment out of our first committed fund. We’re excited about the future with Sean and his team, and thankful for the support from our limited partners that allowed us to complete this transaction in the fund.”
“In 2018, we started this business with a wealth of experience in the automotive aftermarket and a product strategy targeted at overlanding, one of the fastest-growing segments in the industry. In just three years, our rapid growth has positioned us as a preferred product line for enthusiast customers and as a leader in the overlanding industry,” said Mr. Angues. “When I started exploring bringing on a partner, the team at Caymus Equity was an obvious choice because they understand and share my vision for making OVS a leading company in the automotive aftermarket.”
Caymus invests North American-based companies that are valued from $10 million to $100 million and have EBITDA of $2 million to $12 million. Sectors of interest include business services, healthcare services, consumer, and industrials. The firm prefers to have a majority ownership position and be the first institutional capital in a business. Caymus was founded in 2001 and is based in Atlanta with an additional office in New York City.
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