Arrowhead Electrical Products, a portfolio company of The Riverside Company and Investcorp, has agreed to acquire Stens, a distributor of aftermarket replacement parts, from Ariens Company. The transaction, which includes the acquisition of both the Stens and JThomas brands, is expected to close by year-end.
Stens distributes aftermarket replacement parts to the outdoor power equipment, golf, and industrial end markets. The company’s products include non-discretionary, high-wear parts, including engine components, blades, chains, belts, and electrical components that are used in mowers, chainsaws, and snow blowers. Stens has more than 14,000 SKU’s and sells to more than 50,000 customers via eight national distribution centers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, California, Texas, South Carolina, Indiana and Brantford (Canada). The company is headquartered in the southern Indiana city of Jasper (www.stens.com).
Arrowhead Electrical Products (AEP) has approximately 75,000 SKUs including starters, clutches, driveline components, alternators, generators, suspension parts, gasket kits, and other components. The company serves more than 6,000 customers across a number of different end markets, including powersports, agricultural & industrial, outdoor power equipment, marine, and automotive & heavy duty. AEP has 200 full-time employees and is headquartered north of Minneapolis in Blaine, MN (www.arrowheadep.com).
This is the second add-on completed by Arrowhead since Riverside acquired it from Pfingsten Partners in September 2015. “Stens is a highly complementary addition for Arrowhead,” said Riverside Principal Brad Roberts. “It gives Arrowhead a leadership position in the outdoor power equipment aftermarket, while diversifying and expanding Arrowhead’s capabilities.” In April 2016 Arrowhead acquired the C&E companies, an Urbandale IA-based maker and distributor of aftermarket and OEM engine components, primarily for the power sports industry.
Working with Mr. Roberts on the buy of Stens were Operating Partner Steve Stubitz, Vice President Drew Flanigan, Senior Associate Laura Swearingen and Associate Mark Barron. Riverside Partner Anne Hayes helped secure financing for the deal.
The Riverside Company is a global private equity firm focused on investing in and acquiring growing businesses valued at up to $400 million. Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 440 transactions. The firm’s international portfolio includes more than 80 companies. The firm is headquartered in New York with additional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London (www.riversidecompany.com).
Investcorp invests in mid-size companies operating in an array of industry sectors that have total enterprise values of between $200 million and $1 billion and are located in North America or Western Europe. As of June 30, 2016, Investcorp had about $10.8 billion in total assets under management. Investcorp has offices in New York, London, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia (www.investcorp.com).
Ariens is a family-owned manufacturer of outdoor power equipment for both commercial & consumer markets. The company is based south of Green Bay in Brillion, WI (www.ariens.com).
© 2016 Private Equity Professional
November 30, 2016