Argosy Private Equity has sold its portfolio company Trico Equipment to BlueLine Rental, a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Argosy first invested in Trico Equipment in October 2007.
Trico Equipment is one of the largest independent aerial lift rental companies in the United States. The company rents, sells, repairs, and provides parts, preventive maintenance, inspections and operator training for all makes and models of aerial lifts. The company was founded in 1952 and currently has six branch locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Texas. Trico is headquartered near Philadelphia in Mickleton, NJ (www.tricolift.com).
Platinum Equity acquired BlueLine in January 2014 when it purchased the Volvo Rents division of the Volvo Group and renamed the company BlueLine Rental. Today, the company has more than 130 rental stores across North America and offers a complete line of equipment for the construction, commercial and industrial markets, as well as a line of compact excavators, compactors, wheel loaders, backhoe loaders and compaction equipment. BlueLine is headquartered in Houston (www.Bluelinerental.com).
Trico Equipment became a portfolio company of Argosy in October 2007 when Argosy III made a subordinated debt investment to support the purchase by Ken Pustizzi, the President and minority owner of Trico, of his brother’s interest in the company. In December 2012, Argosy IV made an additional subordinated debt investment in the company as part of a transaction that created a partial liquidity event for Mr. Pustizzi, who was the company’s CEO and majority owner at the time.
Argosy invests from $5 million to $15 million in lower middle market companies that have revenues of $10 million to $100 million and EBITDA margins of 10% or greater. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, business services, and value-added distribution. Earlier this month, Argosy held a final closing of Argosy Investment Partners V, LP at the fund’s hard cap of $300 million. The firm is headquartered in the Philadelphia suburb of Wayne, PA (www.argosycapital.com).
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-27-15