CJ Pony Parts, a portfolio company of Century Park Capital Partners, has acquired American Powertrain, a provider of branded transmission kits for classic vehicles. Century Park acquired CJ Pony in April 2021.
American Powertrain specializes in providing modern drivetrain technology to classic and muscle car owners, including overdrive transmission systems, hydraulic clutch kits, and a range of drivetrain-related parts. American Powertrain’s installation parts and systems are manufactured in the United States. The company was founded in 2005 by Robert Hall and is headquartered 80 miles east of Nashville in Cookeville, Tennessee.
“This is an exciting move. It’s wonderful to watch American Powertrain, which started 20 years ago as a home-based business, now take this next momentous leap forward by partnering with CJ Pony Parts,” said Mr. Hall. “I have every confidence this brand will see strong growth in sales, new product offerings and new markets. Thank you to all the good people who worked so hard to bring us to this point.”
CJ Pony specializes in parts for classic Mustangs – those manufactured from 1964 to 1973 – and, with more than 100,000 SKUs, has a leading market share of this specialized aftermarket segment. In addition to classic Mustangs, CJ Pony also sells parts for late-model Mustangs, trucks and Jeeps.
CJ Pony also maintains a library of online educational content and it has a YouTube channel with more than 200,000 subscribers that provides Mustang product instruction and installation training videos.
CJ Pony was co-founded by Creed Stammel and Jay Zeigler in 1985 following the purchase a year earlier of a 1968 Mustang as a restoration project. The founders quickly realized that their passion for Mustangs was shared by other enthusiasts and so they launched CJ Pony to sell used and restored parts to meet this demand. Today, CJ Pony is led by President Mike Large and is headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with an additional warehouse facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The buy of American Powertrain expands CJ Pony’s portfolio of in-house brands and will allow CJ Pony to sell American Powertrain’s products through its well-established e-commerce channel.
“The combination of CJ Pony Parts and American Powertrain will open up a wide range of market opportunities for both companies as they are able to leverage each other’s expertise in e-commerce distribution and transmission product kits, respectively,” said Mr. Large. “The opportunities this partnership presents are truly exciting, and I am confident in a successful future together. We are enthusiastic about the growth potential of American Powertrain and are committed to investing significant resources to fuel its continued expansion.”
“The product offering that American Powertrain brings to our assortment further enhances CJ Pony’s position as a market leader in the classic vehicle restoration category,” said Adam Zacuto, a principal at Century Park. “Additionally, this partnership is a big step toward our goal of building a portfolio of valuable owned brands. We are fortunate to have such a high-quality brand and talented employee base join the CJ Pony family.”
Century Park invests from $10 million to $40 million in middle-market companies that have revenues of $20 million to $100 million and EBITDA of $3 million to $15 million. Sectors of interest include chemicals, medical products and services, business services, engineered products, and consumer products. The firm is based near Los Angeles in El Segundo, California.
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