Genstar Capital has agreed to sell Boyd Corporation to Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking, the primary entity used for Goldman’s long-term principal investing activity.
Genstar acquired Boyd, a manufacturer of gaskets and seals and other specialty products that are used in energy management and environmental sealing applications, from Snow Phipps Group in April 2015. Boyd’s customers include multinational OEMs across various end markets, including the mobile computing, commercial vehicle, recreational vehicle, consumer electronics, agriculture and construction equipment, aerospace, and medical industries. The company, led by CEO Mitch Aiello, is headquartered in Pleasanton, CA (www.boydcorp.com).
“We are excited to partner with Goldman Sachs’s Merchant Banking Division,” said Mr. Aiello. “Goldman Sachs will provide us with differentiated financial support, valuable relationships, global capabilities and a like-minded commitment to excellence. We believe our new investors will help us build on the successful and transformative partnership we have had with Genstar Capital over the past three years during which time we expanded geographically, entered new end markets, completed three acquisitions and enhanced the new product development and engineering focus on the business.”
The three add-on acquisitions completed by Boyd under Genstar ownership were as follows: in May 2017, Boyd acquired Laconia, NH-based Aavid Thermalloy, a provider of thermal management products, from Audax Private Equity; in February 2018 the company acquired Grand Rapids, MI-based Action Fabricators, a provider of converting tapes and adhesive backed foams, plastics and specialty materials to the automotive and medical device industries, from River Associates; and in August 2016 it acquired Anaheim, CA-based Spec Seals, a supplier of synthetic rubber O-rings, gaskets and seals used in a range of applications in the transportation, agriculture and construction equipment, medical device, and aerospace markets.
“It has been a privilege to work alongside Mitch and the Boyd executive team as they built Boyd into a leading provider of highly-engineered solutions to some of the most difficult product challenges faced by global high-growth companies,” said Rob Rutledge, Managing Director at Genstar Capital. “We look forward to following Boyd’s success in their next phase of growth.”
Genstar invests from $50 million to $400 million in middle-market companies that have enterprise values from $50 million to $1 billion and EBITDAs greater than $15 million. The firm targets investments in the financial services, software, industrial technology, and healthcare industries. Genstar was founded in 1988 and is based in San Francisco (www.gencap.com).
“We’ve been incredibly impressed with Boyd’s best-in-class design and engineering capabilities and customer-focused culture,” said Charlie Gailliot, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division has nine offices across seven countries and is based in New York.
Robert W. Baird (www.rwbaird.com) is the financial advisor to Boyd and Weil, Gotshal & Manges (www.weil.com) is providing legal services.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | July 12, 2018
