Race Winning Brands, a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, has acquired Manley Performance Products, a maker of pistons, connecting rods, crankshafts, and valvetrain components sold to the automotive aftermarket.
Manley Performance Products was founded by Hank Manley in 1966 and today is led by President Trip Manley, the son of the founder.
“We are excited to join the Race Winning Brands team and partner with a group that leads the racing industry in technology, manufacturing, and innovation,” said Trip Manley. “Our mission remains the same; to manufacture the finest quality internal engine components at competitive prices and offer unparalleled customer service.”
Race Winning Brands (RWB) is a manufacturer of pistons, engine blocks, cylinder heads, intake manifolds, connecting rods, crankshafts, clutches and other engine and driveline-related components. The company sells its products to the automotive and powersports performance markets under several brands including JE Pistons, Wiseco Performance Products, K1 Technologies, Diamond Pistons, Trend Performance, Rekluse Motor Sports, MGP Connecting Rods, ProX Racing Parts, and Dart Machinery.
“Manley is a natural fit within our organization and this partnership is a tremendous opportunity to further grow our performance product lines,” said Bob Bruegging, president of RWB.
RWB’s customers include professional and sportsman racers, engine builders, enthusiasts, street performance racers, OEM crate engine builders, and automotive and powersports wholesale distributors. The company is headquartered east of Cleveland in Mentor, Ohio with sales and manufacturing operations throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.
“Manley represents a premium automotive brand with high-performance products that fit well within the product categories RWB currently offers. We look forward to the future success of Manley and Race Winning Brands,” said Tom Tuttle, managing director of Kinderhook. The acquisition of Manley by RWB is Kinderhook’s 83rd automotive-related acquisition.
New York City-based Kinderhook makes control investments in companies with transaction values of $25 million to $150 million in which the firm can achieve financial, operational and growth improvements. The firm makes investments in non-core divisions of public companies, management buyouts of entrepreneurial-owned businesses, troubled situations, and existing small-capitalization companies lacking institutional support. Sectors of interest include healthcare services; environmental and business services; and automotive and light manufacturing.
In January, Kinderhook held a final closing of its sixth fund, Kinderhook Capital Fund VI LP (along with a parallel fund, together “Fund VI”), at its hard cap with $1 billion of limited partner commitments. Fund VI was oversubscribed and is the largest fund ever raised by Kinderhook. Also last month, Kinderhook sold Stratus Video, a Florida-based provider of video, over-the-phone, and in-person interpretation services used in the healthcare industry, to publicly traded AMN Healthcare Services for $475 million, a purchase price equal to 14x adjusted EBITDA.
© 2020 Private Equity Professional | February 26, 2020
