Hanover Partners has acquired Blast Deflectors and its sister company APS Germany (together BDI).
BDI designs and manufactures jet blast deflectors, ground run-up enclosures, and end-around taxiway screens that are used in aviation infrastructure applications. BDI’s structures are used to reduce noise and address safety issues associated with high-velocity jet blast. The company’s customers include the world’s major airports, aircraft OEMs such as Airbus, Boeing, and Gulfstream, and military facilities worldwide.
BDI has sold its products in most regions of the world with the majority of annual sales occurring outside the US. The company was founded in 1957 by Stanley Lynn and is headquartered in Reno, NV (www.blastdeflectors.com).
“We were particularly impressed with the worldwide brand BDI has established within the airport infrastructure design and maintenance ecosystem. With major product installations at airfields worldwide, the BDI team has established the premier reputation in both blast protection and engine noise abatement systems,” said Andrew Ford, Principal with Hanover Partners. “Further, the robust secular trends around commercial aviation provide BDI an attractive market opportunity in core and adjacent markets through organic and acquisitive growth, respectively.”
At the closing of the transaction, BDI’s Vice President of Sales, Don Bergin, was named the company’s new President. Christopher Lynn, BDI’s retiring CEO and the company’s prior owner, will remain a board member of BDI. Mr. Bergin, Mr. Lynn and other members of the senior management team co-invested in the transaction alongside Hanover Partners.
“My team and I are excited to partner with Hanover to continue to build upon BDI’s global leadership position in the jet blast deflector and ground run-up enclosure markets,” said Mr. Bergin. “We plan to increase our worldwide presence in our core product lines, continue to introduce new products such as the end-around taxi screen, and expand into adjacent airport infrastructure product categories via acquisition,” said Mr. Bergin. “Hanover’s track-record of supporting the growth of mid-size specialty product manufacturers will enable us to invest in sales and marketing, engineering, and customer service to better support our diverse and expanding international customer base.”
“The sale of BDI marks the beginning of another significant chapter in the company’s long history, since its founding by my father in 1957,” said Mr. Lynn. “I met the Hanover team nearly two years ago, and throughout the negotiations, due diligence, and closing phases they demonstrated repeatedly that they are the right team to lead BDI forward, as our ethics and values are completely aligned. I am confident they are the best possible partner to support Don and the rest of the team in BDI’s next stage of expansion. I look forward to working with Hanover as an active board member and advisor.”
Hanover Partners makes control investments in lower middle-market companies that are active in the specialty equipment, industrial equipment, niche branded consumer products and non-consumer software sectors. Typical targets will have enterprise values of $8 million to $60 million, revenues of at least $8 million, and adjusted EBIT of $1.5 million to $8 million. Hanover was founded in 1994 by John Palmer and Andrew Ford and has offices in the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego and in San Francisco (www.hanoverpartners.com).
“The BDI investment is the latest example of Hanover’s nearly 25-year history of backing excellent managers to build engineered product manufacturers into niche market leaders,” added Mr. Ford. “This investment continues our strong track-record of facilitating smooth ownership and leadership transitions for family-owned and owner-operator companies.”
With the completion of the BDI transaction, Hanover’s current portfolio of companies consists of seven companies located across the United States.
Greyrock Capital Group (www.greyrockcapitalgroup.com) and Northstar Capital (www.northstarcapital.com)co-invested alongside Hanover Partners on this transaction.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | March 22, 2018
