Industrial Opportunity Partners has acquired Little Giant Ladder Systems in partnership with the company’s management team and its owners.
Little Giant is a designer, marketer and manufacturer of ladders, stepladders and stepstools, extension ladders, and safety cages.
Little Giant’s products are used by do-it-yourselfers and professional customers and are sold through brick-and-mortar, e-commerce, and industrial distribution channels. The company, led by its chairman and Art Wing and CEO Ryan Moss, is headquartered near Provo in Springville, Utah and has approximately 250 employees. Little Giant was founded in 1972 by the Wing family.
IOP is partnering with Mr. Wing and Mr. Moss on this transaction and they will retain an ownership interest in the company and remain in their current management roles. At closing, Alberto Satine, an operating principal at IOP, was named co-chairman of the company alongside Mr. Wing.
“On behalf of Little Giant and the Wing family, we are excited to partner with IOP and continue to execute on the various growth opportunities ahead of us,” said Mr. Wing. “Little Giant’s strategic alignment with IOP is a compelling development that we believe will benefit all of our stakeholders including our community, our customers, our suppliers, and importantly, our employees.”
“We have chosen to partner with IOP to provide both capital and a valuable operating perspective that will allow us to continue expanding our reach with new customers, geographies and products. Management is excited to begin this new stage in the company’s history,” said Mr. Moss.
“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with the shareholders and management team of Little Giant, a business whose branded product and reputation for safety, quality and premium design has been recognized by IOP for many years,” said Dave Dorfman, a director at IOP. “We look forward to supporting Little Giant and continuing the company’s impressive growth trajectory.”
The buy of Little Giant is the seventh platform investment for IOP’s third fund, Industrial Opportunity Partners III LP, which closed in July 2017 with $450 million of committed capital. The six earlier Fund III portfolio companies are PolyVision (acquired in February 2020), a Georgia-based manufacturer of ceramic-coated steel used in whiteboards, chalkboards, and architectural cladding; Creative Foam (acquired in October 2017), a Michigan-based manufacturer of die-cut, formed foam, nonwoven, and other components used in automotive, medical, and wind energy applications; SignResource (acquired in July 2018), a Tennessee-based designer and manufacturer of exterior and interior signage for retail fuel/convenience store chains; Royston (acquired in March 2018), a Georgia-based designer, manufacturer and installer of check out and merchandising fixtures and equipment; United Poly Systems (acquired in June 2019), a Missouri-based manufacturer of made-to-order high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe; and Midwest Paper (acquired in January 2020), a Wisconsin-based maker of recycled containerboard and white paper for book publishing and printing/writing applications.
IOP focuses on acquiring middle-market manufacturing and value-added distribution businesses, typically with revenues between $30 million and $450 million. The firm targets businesses with strong product, customer, and market positions and provides both management and operational resources to support sales growth and operational improvements. IOP is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Evanston.
Wells Fargo was the financial advisor to Little Giant and PNC Business Credit provided financing for the acquisition.
© 2021 Private Equity Professional | January 8, 2021
Ares Management and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board have agreed to acquire a majority interest in TricorBraun, a rigid and flexible packaging supplier, from AEA Investors.
“We believe that TricorBraun’s deep expertise, entrepreneurial approach, strong track record, and exceptional culture differentiate the company from its peers,” said Brian Klos, a partner at Ares. “We look forward to working with Court and TricorBraun’s strong management team to drive the next phase of the company’s growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions.”
“TricorBraun is uniquely positioned to serve the requirements of the packaging industry,” said Karen Frank, a senior managing director at Ontario Teachers’. “The company has made significant investments in top talent and operations and will seek to capitalize on those to drive long-term growth in the years ahead. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with TricorBraun through its next chapter.”
Headquartered in Toronto, 
“We are proud of our work with Keith, Court, and the TricorBraun management team to help drive growth through a number of successful initiatives, creating significant long-term value,” said Tom Pryma, a partner at AEA. “We value our strong partnership, and we are excited to continue our support of TricorBraun’s growth strategies.”
The Jordan Company (TJC) has agreed to sell TKE Holdings, (DBA Dimora Brands), a provider of branded specialty hardware and home accessories, to Clearlake Capital Group.
“Greg and the rest of the team at Dimora have been incredible partners with us for nearly five years,” said Mike Denvir, a partner at TJC. “They have created a growth-oriented business model and a team culture unrivaled in their industry. They are proven winners, and we are excited to see them continue to grow and evolve in partnership with Clearlake.”
“We are thrilled to back Dimora Brands and leverage our significant experience investing in building products,” said José Feliciano, co-founder and managing partner at Clearlake. “We are confident that the Company is well-positioned to capitalize on the strong momentum in home improvement spend and remodeling activity. We look forward to leveraging our “O.P.S.” framework in partnership with management to accelerate Dimora Brands’ organic growth plans and continue executing a consolidation strategy in this highly fragmented market.” Clearlake’s O.P.S. model stands for operations, people and strategy.
Ares Management and Harvest Partners have sold Valet Living, a provider of multi-family residential services, to GI Partners.
“We are delighted to partner with Shawn after spending many years watching him and his team build an incredible resident services platform in Valet Living,” said Hoon Cho, a managing director and co-head of private equity at GI Partners. “They have led the creation and growth of an entire industry focused on delivering a better resident, owner, and property manager experience, and we look forward to working with the entire Valet Living team to continue to grow the company’s gold-standard suite of products and services.”
In September 2020, GI acquired 
“Since partnering with management to acquire Valet Living in 2015, we are proud to have supported the company during a period of strong double-digit top-line growth, which included both geographic expansion and the expansion of services from doorstep trash collection to turnkey rental unit turnover, front desk concierge, package management, housekeeping, pet walking, fitness classes and more,” said Matt Cwiertnia, a partner and co-head of Ares’ private equity group. “We would like to thank Harvest for their partnership, and we wish the Valet Living team continued success.”
Creative Foam Corporation, a portfolio company of Industrial Opportunity Partners, has acquired the assets of Aetna Felt. The buy of Aetna is the first add-on acquisition for Creative Foam since being acquired by IOP in October 2017.
“It is very exciting to have Aetna join Creative Foam,” said Phil Fioravante, the chairman of Creative Foam and an operating principal at IOP. “We believe Aetna has a strong position in its served markets, particularly in podiatry and footcare, and we look forward to offering our combined capabilities to customers to better serve them.”
Insignia Capital Group has agreed to sell Truco Enterprises to publicly traded Utz Brands for $480 million. Insignia acquired Truco in June 2014 from Arbor Investments which had purchased the company in 2004.
The company, led by CEO Shane Chambers, was founded in 1991 by David Silver and Roy Truitt and is headquartered in Dallas.
During Insignia’s six-year holding period, Truco’s adjusted EBITDA more than tripled. “It has been a true pleasure partnering with the Truco team to generate this exceptional outcome for all of the company’s stakeholders,” said David Lowe, CEO of Insignia Capital. “We believe Utz will be an exceptional steward of the brand as Truco executes on its next phase of growth.”
“The Truco team is thrilled to be joining the Utz family of brands, and we are thankful to our partners at Insignia Capital for all of their support,” said Mr. Chambers. “On The Border is now one of the fastest-growing Tortilla chip brands and the fastest growing dip brand in the category.”
Young Innovations, a portfolio company of The Jordan Company, has acquired Preat Corporation, a provider of dental implant components, attachments and tools.
“Our acquisition of Preat reflects our continued commitment to invest in the growing area of implant-related and oral surgery products,” said Dan Garrick, vice president of corporate development at Young Innovations. “Preat’s ‘one-stop-shop’ product line for implant restoration represents an excellent addition to our portfolio as we move toward a full range of products in the oral rehabilitation segment.”
The Carlyle Group has acquired a majority stake in Manna Pro Products from Morgan Stanley Capital Partners.
“We’re excited to partner again with John Howe and the talented Manna Pro management team, as we have known many of the key business leaders for more than six years,” said David Basto, a managing director at Carlyle. “Our prior partnership with Manna Pro was a great success, and the business’ momentum has only continued. Strong recent organic growth and the relative fragmentation in the categories in which the company plays give us a high degree of confidence in the opportunities ahead for Manna Pro.”
“We are grateful to have partnered with the extraordinary management team at Manna Pro during a period of tremendous growth as they advanced their position as a leading provider of pet health and nutrition,” said Aaron Sack, the head of Morgan Stanley Capital Partners. “During MSCP’s ownership, Manna Pro built on its long history with strong organic growth and benefited from several critical companion pet acquisitions, including Fruitables, Hero Pet and most recently Doggie Dailies, that expanded Manna Pro’s online presence and created opportunities to reshape the supply chain and operations.”
Corinthian Capital has sold Eastern Wholesale Fence, a manufacturer and distributor of residential and commercial fence products, to Center Rock Capital Partners and Leelanau Private Capital. Corinthian acquired Eastern Wholesale in April 2017.
“We are pleased that Corinthian could provide the strong management team at Eastern with the resources and expertise to grow the business from a respected regional player to an industry leader,” said Kenneth Clay, founder and partner at Corinthian. “Over the past three and a half years, the company experienced strong organic growth while introducing new quality products and integrating new manufacturing processes. We were fortunate to have been able to partner with Peter and his team and are proud of the work the Corinthian team was able to provide, and the successful outcome that we achieved together.”
Auxo Investment Partners has acquired sister companies Paramount Tube and Euclid Medical. The two companies both operate under the Precision Products Group (PPG) brand name.
“We were immediately impressed with PPG’s unique capabilities and dominant market position,” said Jeff Helminski, a managing partner of Auxo. “It’s clear the company’s values are closely aligned with ours — and its success has been driven by the leadership team’s unrelenting pursuit of excellence and customer service. We’re excited to work with Dave and his team to honor the legacy they have built and support them in leveraging their unique capabilities to expand their global footprint both organically and acquisitively.”
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with the PPG team,” added Jack Kolodny, a managing partner of Auxo. “This is exactly the kind of company we had in mind when we formed Auxo — and we look forward to being an active and additive partner in the continued growth of an already outstanding company.”
