Lincolnshire Management has acquired Whitewater Brands, a supplier and distributor of marketing products and light equipment to automotive collision shops and dealerships, from Rock Gate Partners and Peninsula Capital Partners.
Whitewater’s products include more than 69,000 SKUs of light equipment, apparel, and marketing consumables (banners, flags, stickers, and tags) used by automotive collision and mechanical repair shops, and dealerships. Whitewater markets and sells its products – sold under the catalog brands Collision Services, I/D/E/A, Sid Savage, Auto Body Toolmart, and Sole Source – through its in-house call center, e-commerce sites, and online marketplaces.
Whitewater was formed in 2012 by Rock Gate and Peninsula to acquire and merge Collision Services and I/D/E/A (including Sole Source). The business acquired the Sid Savage brand in 2015 and Auto Body Toolmart in 2018. Whitewater is headquartered 25 miles west of Boise in Caldwell, Idaho, with additional facilities near Chicago in Elgin, Illinois, and 100 miles northeast of Des Moines in Hudson, Iowa.
The acquisition of Whitewater Brands – led by co-managing partners Philip Kim and Tad Nedeau – is the fifth platform investment for Lincolnshire’s fifth fund. Other Lincolnshire transaction team members included Tom Callahan, David Corbin, John Waldron, Matt Landolphi, and Chris Kostoglou.
“The Whitewater brands are well recognized in the collision repair community and their reputation positions them to be a promising platform for growth as a leader in a very large, broad, and highly fragmented market,” said T.J. Maloney, the chairman and CEO of Lincolnshire.
“Under our ownership, we believe Whitewater has the potential to aggressively grow sales, explore collaboration across its existing brands, and utilize Lincolnshire’s operations team to execute recognized efficiencies. M&A will also be a priority,” said Mr. Nedeau.
“Lincolnshire has a track record of success investing in the transportation and transportation servicing industries so we bring significant experience and resources to Whitewater and the management team. This investment is a great addition to our portfolio, and the business is well-positioned to capitalize on trends we see in the industry,” said Mr. Kim.
New York City-headquartered Lincolnshire is a middle-market private equity firm that manages $1.7 billion of capital and focuses on acquiring companies with $50 million to $500 million in revenue. The firm invests in a wide range of industries but has specific interests in niche manufacturing, distribution, and service businesses. Lincolnshire was founded in 1986 and is investing out of its fifth fund, Lincolnshire Equity Fund V LP.
Brown Gibbons Lang & Company was the financial advisor to Whitewater on this transaction.
© 2022 Private Equity Professional | December 6, 2022
