Watervale Equity Partners has acquired Duke Manufacturing, a contract manufacturer of precision metal components.
Duke Manufacturing’s products – made from Inconel (a nickel-chromium-based superalloy), Hastelloy (a nickel-molybdenum-chromium superalloy), L605 (a cobalt-chromium-tungsten-nickel superalloy), titanium, and stainless steel – are used predominately as components in engines in the aerospace and defense sector, but are also used in the power generation, marine and medical industries.
Duke is led by co-owner and CEO Jeff Newmark and is headquartered near Cleveland in Willoughby, Ohio. Mr. Newmark remains an investor in the company and will continue to lead the business.
“Duke has differentiated operational and service capability that has served as the foundation for their solid growth and excellent reputation in their markets. We are excited to partner with management to accelerate their organic growth opportunities while aggressively pursuing complementary add-on acquisitions,” said Jim Guddy, a managing director and co-founder at Watervale.
“Our team is excited to partner with Watervale to build upon our success and take the business to the next level,” said Mr. Newmark. “We value Watervale’s operational approach and previous experience in our markets which will help us achieve our vision for the company.”
“Duke has all of the attributes we look for in the aerospace & defense sector. It has leveraged its operating excellence and strong customer relationships to secure content on the leading platforms that are supported by strong global demand and backlog,” added Alex Campau, a vice president at Watervale.
Cleveland-based Watervale makes control investments of up to $25 million in companies that have up to $6 million in EBITDA and less than $50 million in enterprise values. Sectors of interest include specialized manufacturing, value-added distribution, and industrial services. Watervale was founded in 2017 by Mike Faremouth, Jim Guddy and Eric Bacon, three former partners of Linsalata Capital.
© 2020 Private Equity Professional | March 12, 2020
