FFL Partners has completed its acquisition of Bacharach, a manufacturer of refrigerant gas leak detection and monitoring instruments, from Incline Equity which acquired the company in September 2007.
Bacharach designs and manufactures gas test and measurement (T&M) instrumentation for commercial refrigeration and HVAC equipment. The company’s customers include original equipment manufacturers, supermarkets, contractors, building managers, hospitality, military operations, and industrial manufacturing businesses. In addition to its manufacturing operations, Bacharach also operates a software platform under the Parasense brand that aggregates data from sensors and detection products to allow users to reduce equipment downtime, product loss, and energy and maintenance expense. In addition, the company provides its customers with onsite maintenance and support services.
Bacharach, led by CEO Doug Keeports, was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in the Pittsburgh suburb of New Kensington, PA and has manufacturing and distribution facilities located in Dublin, Ireland; Gloucester, UK; Charlottesville, VA; and Toronto, Canada (www.mybacharach.com).
“We’re excited to team up with FFL Partners, a firm with strong operational expertise and deep experience growing market-leading businesses,” said Mr. Keeports. “We look forward to pursuing strategic opportunities that increase our global footprint in the fixed and portable gas detection instrumentation markets.”
“Our investment in Bacharach follows our strategy of investing in quality businesses in attractive markets where we have expertise and an ability to add value,” said Greg Long, a Partner at FFL Partners. “We believe there are additional opportunities to grow Bacharach through strategic acquisitions and further build upon its robust gas detection, combustion analysis, energy management and data analytic product portfolio.”
The investment in Bacharach reflects an investment thesis FFL is executing in the monitoring solution and equipment industry. In April 2017, FFL acquired DataOnline, a New Jersey-based provider of remote tank monitoring services (tank level, pressure, and temperature) to the industrial gas market (www.dataonline.com).
FFL Partners makes control and minority investments of $50 million to $300 million in middle-market companies that are active in consumer products and services, industrial products and services, financial services, healthcare services, and business services. The firm is currently investing out of its $2 billion fourth fund which closed in May 2015. FFL Partners was founded in 1997 and is based in San Francisco (www.fflpartners.com).
“Bacharach is a market leading business with strong brand recognition that’s poised for further growth,” said Martin Carter, an Operating Partner at FFL Partners. “Doug and the Bacharach team continue to excel at developing advanced refrigerant gas leak detection, combustion analyzers, and sensing and remote monitoring equipment for the company’s worldwide blue chip customer base.”
During Incline Equity’s term of ownership, Bacharach completed two add-on acquisitions. In July 2011 it acquired Murco, a Dublin, Ireland-based manufacturer of refrigerant gas leak detection equipment, and in June 2017 the company acquired Parasense, a designer and manufacturer of refrigerant leak detection products, energy monitoring services and data analytic services. Parasense is headquartered in Quedgeley, UK and has an additional office in Stanardsville, VA. Incline Equity was also active in upgrading the management resources of the company and investing capital to develop new products and strengthen the sales, marketing, and operations functions.
Incline Equity invests from $15 million to $30 million in support of recapitalizations, buyouts and corporate divestitures of lower middle market companies that have EBITDAs greater than $5 million and enterprise values between $50 million and $200 million. Sectors of interest include value-added distribution, specialized light manufacturing, and business and industrial services. Incline was formed in 2011 and is based in Pittsburgh (www.inclineequity.com).
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | September 20, 2017
