Huntington Capital has sold its Fund II investment in Vantage Mobility International, a manufacturer of wheelchair accessible vehicles.
Vantage Mobility International s a manufacturer of wheelchair accessible vehicles, platform lifts for wheelchairs and other accessibility products. VMI has the second largest market share in North America within the personal mobility segment. VMI’s primary product is minivan conversions which are sold through an extensive mobility equipment dealer network operating approx 275 retail locations throughout the US and Canada. The company was founded in 1987 and is based in Phoenix (www.vantagemobility.com).
Huntington Capital provided funding to Vantage Mobility in January 2011 to support the working capital requirements associated with vehicle platform changeovers and product development for three different models including Toyota, Honda and Chrysler/Dodge. These platform changes have allowed the company to execute its growth plan successfully. Post investment the company has experienced strong growth and was able to pay off Huntington’s mezzanine debt using internal cash flow, resulting in a favorable outcome for Huntington and VMI.
“For the last 2 ½ years Huntington Capital has been an outstanding partner for VMI. They have been instrumental in our growth, both from a revenue and EBITDA performance perspective. Morgan Miller and his team have been there for us at every turn with both capital as well as business acumen support,” said Tim Barone CFO of VMI. “The best things that I can say about Huntington is that when the need arises for more capital they will be the first phone call that I make and that I have recommended their firm to many people in the financial community”.
“Our participation in Vantage Mobility’s growth is an excellent example of how Huntington can assist a company with medium term working capital needs to achieve its operating objectives,” said Morgan Miller, Founder and Managing Partner of Huntington Capital. ”In this case VMI had a need to cover unusually high engineering costs due to new models of both Toyota and Honda mini-vans being introduced in the same year and platform changes by Chrysler. This was a text book case of a company needing more than a commercial bank could provide in a line of credit and not wanting to raise equity. The results are mostly a reflection of top quality planning and execution by VMI’s management and board, which is one of the best managed middle-market companies that we’ve seen”.
Huntington Capital is a mezzanine capital provider to lower middle market companies throughout California and the Southwestern United States. Huntington is operating three limited partnerships and is currently seeking new investments for its recently formed Huntington Capital Fund III. Huntington invests in businesses generating between $10 million and $75 million in revenues across a range of industries. Investments are typically structured in the form of growth capital, buyout or acquisition financing ranging between $2 million and $7 million. The firm was founded in 2000 and is based in San Diego (www.huntingtoncapital.com).
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-4-13