Versa Capital Management portfolio company Allen-Vanguard has sold two of its operating units to Safariland Group, a provider of law enforcement and security products. The sale retired 100% of Allen-Vanguard’s outstanding bank debt and funded significant payments to Versa affiliates.
Allen-Vanguard was acquired by Versa in December 2009 and provides services for defeating terrorist and extremist threats. The sale included Allen-Vanguard’s “Med-Eng” bomb disposal suit and related equipment units (EOD), and its Crew Survivability group (CS), which provides products for blast attenuation and thermal management.
“We are pleased that Allen-Vanguard has completed this successful sale, enabling the company to deleverage and generate an attractive distribution for our fund investors while advancing Allen-Vanguard’s strategy to deleverage and focus on its remaining high-growth business units,” said Gregory Segall, CEO of Versa Capital.
Allen-Vanguard will now focus on its two retained businesses: Electronic Systems and Countermeasures (ES/ECM) and Counter-Threat Solutions (CTS), both of which will continue to operate under the Allen-Vanguard name. Allen-Vanguard’s ES business provides jamming and electronic sensing solutions that protect soldiers, law enforcement personnel and dignitaries. The company’s CTS business provides specialized intelligence services, tools and training in the fight against extremist network operations. Allen-Vanguard is headquartered in Arlington, VA (www.allenvanguard.com).
Safariland, the acquirer of the two operating units from Allen-Vanguard, is a designer and manufacturer of equipment for sporting, military, law enforcement, investigation and public safety personnel. The company was formerly a division of BAE Systems and was acquired by affiliates of Kanders and Company in July 2012 for $124 million. Safariland has offices in Ontario, CA and Jacksonville, FL (www.safariland.com).
“In the past few years, and in the face of dramatic changes in the US and global defense landscape, much has been accomplished in repositioning Allen-Vanguard from the inside out,” said Mr. Segall. “As part of the company’s strategic review of its portfolio of businesses, it was determined that the mature EOD and CS businesses would be attractive to the marketplace, resulting in today’s successful divestiture. “Going forward, Allen-Vanguard will pursue its mission of providing high value-add solutions in support of global counter-terrorism efforts through its ES/ECM and CTS business units.”
Versa Capital Management invests in special situations involving middle market companies with revenues in the $50 million to $1 billion range or assets of $25 million to $500 million. The firm has $1.3 billion of capital under management and is based in Philadelphia (www.versa.com).
Versa Capital and Allen-Vanguard were represented by Houlihan Lokey as financial advisor.
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-24-13
