Greenbriar Stays Active in the Automotive Sector with Buy of RANDYS Worldwide

Greenbriar Equity Group has acquired a majority equity interest in RANDYS Worldwide from Tailwind Capital. Tailwind and members of the company’s senior management team remain as minority investors in the business in partnership with Greenbrier.

RANDYS is a national supplier of branded vehicle drivetrain, undercar, and suspension products including differentials, driveshafts, suspensions, steering, alloy wheels, off-road armor, remanufactured manual transmissions, transfer cases, and axle assemblies.

Customers of RANDYS include all types of automotive installers, enthusiasts, teams, and racers in the off-road, street, track, restoration, customization, and general repair segments.

RANDYS was founded by Randal Lyman in his garage in 1982 as Randy’s Ring & Pinion and changed its name to RANDYS Worldwide in 2015. RANDYS was acquired by Linsalata Capital in 2015 and by Tailwind Capital in 2019. Post-closing, Everett, Washington-headquartered RANDYS will continue to be led by CEO Kevin Kaestner.

“We are grateful to our partners at Tailwind for their dedicated support and strategic guidance which have been instrumental in building RANDYS into the scaled platform it is today,” said Mr. Kaestner. “As we look toward the future, we are thrilled to have selected Greenbriar as our partner for an exciting new chapter in our history.”

“With its omnichannel model and portfolio of highly regarded brands, RANDYS is a truly exceptional business that is uniquely positioned for continued success in an attractive and resilient segment of the vehicle aftermarket,” said Matt Burke, a managing director at Greenbriar. “We are excited to partner with Kevin and the rest of the RANDYS team to further strengthen the company’s leadership position while leveraging Greenbriar’s domain expertise to accelerate growth.”

With the buy of RANDYS, Greenbrier remains active in the automotive sector. Back in February 2022, Greenbriar acquired a majority equity interest in JEGS Automotive, an online retailer and distributor of aftermarket auto parts and accessories. JEGS was founded in 1960 by hot rod enthusiast Jeg Coughlin in a 4,000-square-foot garage and parts shop in Columbus, Ohio, and today the company sells more than two million SKUs of branded and private-label aftermarket auto parts and accessories to a national base of automotive enthusiast customers. Greenbriar’s investment in JEGS is the company’s first institutional capital and the founding Coughlin family has retained a minority ownership position in the company.

Rye, New York-headquartered Greenbriar is an active investor in the supply chain, business services, and advanced manufacturing sectors. Since its founding in 1999, the firm has raised over $5 billion in capital commitments across five funds with its most recent fund, Greenbriar Equity Fund V LP, closing in March 2021 with an oversubscribed $1.7 billion of capital.

“RANDYS’ products are known in the industry to be best-in-class, and their products reflect the entire RANDYS team and organization. We have been extremely impressed by RANDYS’ ability to grow the business not only organically, but also through partnering with other leading companies,” said Nick Cincotta, a principal at Tailwind. “Tailwind appreciates the collaboration with the team over the last three-plus years and looks forward to remaining a partner and shareholder going forward.”

New York-based Tailwind invests from $25 million to $200 million of equity in middle-market companies that have enterprise values of up to $500 million and EBITDA from $10 million to $50 million. Sectors of interest include infrastructure services, supply chain, and IT services. In September 2018, Tailwind held an above-target and oversubscribed final closing of Tailwind Capital Partners III LP with $1.8 billion of capital. Since its founding in 2003, Tailwind has invested in 50 portfolio companies and completed over 170 add-on acquisitions.

Baird and Piper Sandler were the financial advisors to Tailwind and RANDYS on this transaction.

© 2022 Private Equity Professional | November 4, 2022