NOVACAP has acquired a majority equity interest in Nitrex Metal, a provider of metal heat treatment equipment and services.
Nitrex Metal is a maker of systems used to heat treat ferrous or non-ferrous materials through gas nitriding and gas nitrocarburizing (both are thermochemical processes where nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen atoms are diffused into the surface of a steel part to form a compound layer that improves hardness and other performance attributes). Nitrex has been growing consistently over the last several years and has annual revenues of approximately $60 million. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Quebec. Nitrex Metal has approximately 300 employees and has operations in Canada, the United States, Poland, Germany, France, Italy, China, Brazil, Japan and Mexico (www.nitrex.com).
Michel Korwin, the founder of Nitrex, and Chris Morawski, head of US operations and international services, will remain with the company under NOVACAP ownership and both will maintain a significant equity stake in the company.
“NOVACAP is excited to be joining forces with Nitrex to help the company find new market opportunities and get to the next level,” said Stéphane Tremblay, Senior Partner at NOVACAP. “Nitrex has already proven itself through its time-tested relationships with customers in an array of industries. We’re impressed by their track record and look forward to partnering with them to execute their aggressive growth plan in the fast-growing metallic surface nitriding sector.”
Novacap, with $1.5 billion in assets under management, invests in middle market companies within traditional industries and in companies in the information and communication technologies sector. The firm was founded in 1981 and is based in Quebec (www.novacap.ca).
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-15-15