Summit Park has acquired Freedom Electronics, a provider of aftermarket electronic components, from Chicago-based private equity firm Range Light which invested in the company in April 2014.
Freedom Electronics remanufactures and sells a portfolio of over 2,300 electronic components used in fuel dispensers, retail point-of-sale systems, and automatic tank gauges. The company’s products include circuit boards, displays, printers, keyboards, overlays, vacuum pumps, point of sale consoles, control boxes and cash drawers, card readers, optical encoders, power supplies and components for all major manufacturers of gasoline pumps.
Freedom Electronics’ nationwide customer base includes retailers, parts distributors, and equipment service companies. The company, led by co-founder and CEO Rod Smith, is headquartered near Atlanta in Kennesaw, GA (www.freedomelectronics.com).
“We are excited to partner with Rod Smith and the Freedom leadership team to build on the company’s historical success,” said Jim Johnson, a co-founding partner of Summit Park. “This opportunity was particularly interesting given our investment in Tennessee Industrial Electronics, which repairs and refurbishes industrial electronic components.” Summit Park acquired Tennessee Industrial Electronics (TIE) in September 2014. The company provides parts and repairs for FANUC computer numerical control (CNC) systems. TIE has over 75,000 FANUC drives, motors, and controls in inventory and provides next-day delivery to machine tool users throughout the United States. The company is headquartered southeast of Nashville in La Vergne, TN (www.fanucworld.com).
The acquisition of Freedom Electronics is the first investment by Summit Park’s third fund, Summit Park III LP, which closed in August 2018 with $245 million of capital commitments. The fund exceeded its original target of $200 million. Summit Park’s earlier fund closed in April 2015 with $118 million of capital commitments.
Summit Park invests in lower middle market companies that have operations primarily based in the Eastern half of the US and have revenues between $20 and $100 million and EBITDAs between $4 million and $12 million. Sectors of interest include business and consumer services, light manufacturing and value-added distribution. Summit Park was co-founded by partners Bob Calton and Jim Johnson in 2006 and is headquartered in Charlotte, NC (www.summitparkllc.com).
Range Light, the seller of Freedom Electronics, makes control and minority investments of $1 million to $20 million in companies with $1 million to $30 million in revenue. The firm is headquartered in Chicago (www.rangelightllc.com).
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | January 10, 2019
