Harvey Performance Company, a provider of carbide end mills and cutting tools and a portfolio company of Berkshire Partners, has acquired ATA Group.
Harvey Performance Company designs and manufactures specialized cutting tools used to cut and shape metals in precision machining applications. Customers of the company are active in the aerospace and defense, medical, automotive, industrial motors and telecommunications sectors. Harvey’s brands include Harvey Tool, Helical Solutions, Micro 100, Titan USA, CoreHog, and Valor Holemaking brands.
Berkshire Partners acquired a majority stake in Harvey in November 2021 from Summit Partners which had acquired the business in October 2017 from The Riverside Company.
Harvey, led by CEO Brian Lavelle, was founded in 1985 and is headquartered north of Boston in Rowley, Massachusetts. “We couldn’t be more excited about welcoming ATA to the Harvey Performance family,” said Mr. Lavelle. “This acquisition represents a milestone in the proud history of the company and further establishes our integrated, international business comprised of distinctive brands and product lines.”
ATA Group manufactures and distributes over 25,000 SKUs of industrial cutting tools to more than 7,500 customers in 90 countries that operate in the aerospace, automotive, power generation, transportation, energy, metal fabrication, marine and foundry sectors.
Company owned brands include Karnasch, SGSPRO, ATA Tools, Van Hoorn Carbide, Industrial Tooling Corporation, and Garryson. ATA’s 2024 revenue is estimated to be €110 million in 2024 with an EBITDA of €23.5 million, a 21.4% EBITDA margin.
Killygarry, Ireland-headquartered ATA, led by CEO Peter Cosgrove with more than 450 employees, was founded in 1963 and has seven manufacturing facilities worldwide with operations in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, The Netherlands, and Switzerland.
“ATA is delighted to join Harvey Performance Company, with whom we share a unified global vision for the future,” said Mr. Cosgrove. “We’re focused on expanding Harvey Performance’s brands across Europe and beyond while introducing ATA’s leading brands to Harvey Performance’s customers. I am honored to join the Harvey Performance board. Our management team is looking forward to collaborating with our new colleagues, and our primary focus remains on driving business growth globally.”
ATA is a portfolio company of Dublin-headquartered Development Capital and the sovereign wealth fund Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF). Development Capital first invested in ATA Group in 2017 and ISIF invested in the business in 2019 to back the acquisition of Karnasch Professional Tools, a German cutting tool specialist. With the sale to Harvey, both Development Capital and ISIF are exiting their investment in ATA.
Harvey’s acquisition of ATA provides the business with an international platform for continued growth and expansion and gives the company’s North American customers access to European industrial cutting tools, while allowing for expansion of Harvey Performance’s brands across Europe. The global cutting tool market is estimated to be over $20 billion. With increasing demand for precision machining across industries like aerospace, automotive, and electronics, the market is expected to see continued growth.
“This acquisition presents great potential for Harvey Performance,” said Jerry Gleisner, Harvey’s senior vice president of sales. “It provides Harvey’s North American customers with exposure to some of the best industrial cutting tools that Europe has to offer.”
“We are excited for the many growth opportunities enabled by the combination of Harvey Performance and ATA’s highly complementary offerings and talented leadership teams,” said Ted Rainaud, a managing director at Berkshire Partners. “This acquisition represents a significant expansion of Harvey Performance’s product offering and geographic presence. We look forward to supporting the continued growth and expansion of the combined business.”
Berkshire Partners invests from $150 million to $500 million of equity capital in mid-sized companies that are valued from $200 million to $2 billion and that operate in the consumer, healthcare, services, industrial, and technology & communications sectors. Berkshire Partners was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Boston.
Piper Sandler was the financial advisor to Harvey Performance Company and Berkshire Partners on the acquisition of ATA. Houlihan Lokey was the advisor to ATA.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | July 16, 2024
