Exponential Power, a portfolio company of High Road Capital Partners, has acquired DC Kilowatts.
DC Kilowatts is a distributor of industrial batteries and chargers for forklifts, switchgear, telecommunications and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems. The company also designs and installs battery charging rooms that meet OSHA and EPA regulations. DC Kilowatts, led by Principal Bill Fink, was founded in 1980 and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Exponential Power is an assembler and distributor of batteries, power systems, and test equipment for motive, stationary and standby power applications in the energy, utilities, industrial, telecom, data center, motive power, and material-handling markets.
The company’s products and services include Lithium-Ion, Nickel Cadmium, sealed VRLA (valve-regulated lead-acid batteries in both absorbent glass mat (AGM) and Gel formats), wet cell batteries, as well as custom-designed power products; chargers, testing and monitoring equipment; and storage systems.
Exponential Power, led by CEO Jake Walker, was founded in 1915 and is headquartered near Milwaukee in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, with 17 additional facilities in Texas (2), Florida, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, California, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Louisiana, Minnesota, Arizona, North Carolina, Colorado, Alabama and Georgia. The buy of DC Kilowatts gives Exponential Power a total of 18 locations across the United States.
“DC Kilowatts is known for providing excellent service to its customers and we are pleased to welcome them to the Exponential Power family,” said Mr. Walker. “Bill Fink and his team built an impressive company with a 43-year history and have been a Crown Battery authorized representative since 2007. Their motive power expertise is a great fit for Exponential Power, expanding our geographic footprint, strengthening our more-than-30-year relationship with Crown Battery, and further increasing our sales and service capabilities.” Ohio-based Crown Battery specializes in manufacturing deep-cycle batteries used in industrial equipment, golf carts, marine applications, and floor-cleaning machines.
Exponential Power was formed in January 2021 through the merger of Storage Battery Systems (acquired by High Road in May 2017), Nolan Power Group (July 2018), Quality Standby Services (July 2019) and Summit Power Systems (October 2019).
The buy of DC Kilowatts is Exponential Power’s sixth acquisition in the past 18 months.
Twin Brook was the administrative agent on debt financing to support both High Road’s refinancing of Exponential Power and to finance the add-on acquisition of DC Kilowatt. Chicago-based Twin Brook focuses on loans to private equity-owned companies with EBITDA between $3 million and $50 million, with an emphasis on companies with $25 million of EBITDA and below. The firm targets senior financing opportunities up to $200 million, with hold sizes across the platform ranging from $25 million up to $150 million. Twin Brook’s products include opportunistic investments in second lien, mezzanine, and equity co-investments.
High Road invests in niche manufacturing, specialty distribution, business services, and consumer products companies that have revenues of $5 million to $100 million and EBITDA of $1 million to $10 million. The Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm was founded in 2007.
© 2023 Private Equity Professional | June 14, 2023
