Brazos Private Equity Partners has sold Ennis-Flint, a maker of pavement markings and traffic safety products, to Olympus Partners. Brazos invested in Ennis-Flint with capital from its $400 million Brazos Fund II and $715 million Brazos Equity Fund III.
Ennis-Flint makes and sells durable and retro-reflective marking products used in the construction, maintenance and repair of highways, roads, and airports. Ennis-Flint is the result of the March 2012 merger of Ennis Paint (acquired in 2007) and Flint Trading (acquired in 2012), both of which were Brazos portfolio investments. The company serves more than 4,000 government and private sector customers in more than 60 countries through 20 manufacturing facilities and sales offices located across five continents. Ennis-Flint is headquartered southwest of Greensboro in Thomasville, NC (www.ennisflint.com).
During Brazos’ term of ownership the company’s earnings more than tripled through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth. Brazos completed 12 add-on acquisitions, eight of which were businesses outside the U.S. This expansion to new markets via acquisition transformed the business from a company that generated nearly 100% of revenue from domestic operations to a global company with approximately 25% of revenue from international markets.
“We have enjoyed a long and successful relationship with Ennis-Flint and take great pride in the results we have achieved during our tenure as an investor in the company,” said Randall Fojtasek, Co-Founding Partner and Co-CEO of Brazos and Vice Chairman of the Board of Ennis-Flint. “Reflective of our team’s organic and acquisitive approach to value creation, we worked closely with management to implement operational enhancements, identify and acquire complementary businesses and expand the company’s sales and manufacturing capabilities.”
Brazos makes equity investments of $25 million to $100 million in middle-market companies with enterprise values from $50 million to $500 million. Sectors of interest include consumer, healthcare, commercial & industrial, and business services. Brazos has approximately $1.4 billion of equity capital under management and is based in Dallas (www.brazospartners.com).
“Ennis-Flint highly values the collaboration we have had with the Brazos team for many years,” said Steve Vetter, CEO of Ennis-Flint. “Their focus on operational improvement was well suited to our company’s needs as we worked to expand our platform and achieve several key corporate development initiatives.”
Harris Williams & Co. (www.harriswilliams.com), Rothschild (www.rothschild.com) and Grace Matthews (www.gracematthews.com) served as financial advisors to Ennis-Flint. Weil, Gotshal & Manges (www.weil.com) provided legal counsel.
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 6-15-16
