Platte River Equity has acquired Huskie Tools, a provider of battery-operated hydraulic hand tools used in the electric utility industry.
Huskie Tools is a provider of professional-grade, battery-operated hydraulic hand tools, hoists and related accessories that are used by linemen in the electric utility industry and in other industrial end markets. The company’s product portfolio consists of hydraulic power tools and hoists that are used primarily to maintain and build transmission and distribution infrastructure. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered west of Chicago in Glendale Heights, IL (www.huskietools.com).
Platte River makes equity investments of $10 million to $50 million in lower middle-market companies with enterprise values generally between $20 million and $250 million. The firm focuses on investing in the aerospace and transportation; energy and industrial products and services; and chemicals, metals, minerals and agriculture sectors. The firm invested capital out of its third fund, Platte River Equity III, LP, to acquire Huskie Tools. Platte River is based in Denver (www.platteriverequity.com).
“Platte River places strong emphasis on investing in businesses that provide critical products and services that meet the needs of our country’s most important infrastructure. With Huskie Tools’ market-leading position, the company is poised to capitalize on the significant planned investment in the North American power delivery system,” said Platte River Managing Director Peter Calamari.
“We are looking forward to working closely with Platte River and learning from their prior experiences as we continue to develop new products, penetrate new end markets and expand geographically,” said Roger Richter, Vice President of Operations of Huskie Tools.
Chicago-based Madison Capital (www.mcfllc.com) provided financing for the transaction. Madison Capital, a subsidiary of New York Life, is focused exclusively on the corporate financing needs of middle market private equity firms.
Chicago-based Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott (www.bartlit-beck.com) served as legal counsel to Platte River.
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-21-15