DexKo Global, a portfolio company of KPS Capital Partners, has closed its acquisition of Preston Chassis Industries (PCI). The buy of PCI was made through DexKo’s Australian subsidiary AL-KO International.
PCI is a manufacturer of chassis, suspensions, axle and couplings for on and off-road campers. The company was founded in the late 1970s by Fernando Pasquale and Orazio Mammola and is headquartered near Melbourne in Campbellfield, Australia (www.prestonchassis.com.au).
DexKo Global designs and manufactures trailer axles and other running gear components (the parts of a motor vehicle not producing or controlling power, including the frame, suspension, steering, and brakes, are referred to as running gear). The company’s products, in addition to axles, include brakes, hubs and drums, suspension components, magnets and seals. DexKo products are used by original equipment manufacturers in the utility trailer, recreational vehicle, heavy duty, manufactured housing, agricultural, marine, military, cargo, horse/livestock, and specialty trailer markets.
DexKo Global sells its products through a network of distributors in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, and internationally. The company was formerly known as Dexter Axle Company and changed its name to DexKo Global in January 2016 (Dexter Axle had acquired AL-KO Vehicle Technology in December 2015). DexKo Global has more than 5,000 employees, 43 production facilities and 22 distribution centers. The company, with annual revenues of more than $1.5 billion, is led by CEO Fred Bentley and is headquartered near Detroit in Novi, MI (www.dexko.com) (www.dexteraxle.com).
“We are excited to proceed with integrating PCI as part of DexKo Global,” said Mr. Bentley. “PCI has built an impressive legacy based on its commitment to consistently provide high-quality products to its loyal customer base. We look forward to building upon PCI’s success by offering existing and new customers more complete and innovative running gear solutions. This acquisition brings us closer to delivering our DexKo 2020 plan by growing our product offering available to our customers.”
KPS Capital Partners is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a group of private equity funds with approximately $5 billion of assets under management. KPS makes control investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a range of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. The firm’s portfolio companies have aggregate annual revenues of approximately $5.8 billion, operate 100 manufacturing plants in 27 countries, and employ over 22,000 people worldwide. KPS Capital Partners is headquartered in New York (www.kpsfund.com).
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | June 7, 2019