Washington Equity Partners has acquired Accu-Tube Corporation, a manufacturer of small-diameter tubing.
Accu-Tube manufactures standard and custom size stainless steel tubing with outside diameters ranging from .23 millimeters to 9.35 millimeters. The company’s customers include OEMs and Tier I suppliers in the medical, aerospace and industrial markets.
Accu-Tube was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Englewood, CO (www.accutube.com).
“Accu-Tube is a clear market leader with unique engineering capabilities and differentiated products, and the customer demand for its tubing far exceeds the company’s current revenue base,” said Jesse Liu, a Partner at Washington Equity. “We plan to make significant investments to expand the company’s manufacturing capacity, and are excited to be partnering with new CEO Kevin McGrath and the current Accu-Tube team to grow the business.”
In tandem with the closing, Washington Equity has named Kevin McGrath as the company’s new chief executive officer. “I am excited to join the Accu-Tube team as the company begins its partnership with Washington Equity,” said Mr. McGrath. “I have been a longtime customer of Accu-Tube’s tubing and have a strong appreciation for the market-leading quality of its products, the strong capabilities of its talented management and employees, and the opportunity ahead. We look forward to enhancing our service levels to each of our current customers and building increased awareness of our capabilities across each of our market segments.”
Prior to joining Accu-Tube, from 2016 to 2018, Mr. McGrath was with Tecomet, most recently as Vice President, Advanced Surgical. Tecomet is a maker of a range of products – including orthopedic implants, surgical instruments, trauma plates and photochemically etched products – used in the medical and aerospace & defense industries. Tecomet was acquired in May 2018 by Charlesbank Capital Partners from Genstar Capital. Before Tecomet, from 2006 to 2016, Mr. McGrath held a number of senior management positions (including as a co-founder) with Mountainside Medical, a Boulder, CO-based maker of machined components used in the minimally invasive market, including laparoscopic instruments and jaws, orthopedic/neuro-navigation instrumentation, and electrosurgical instruments. Mountainside Medical was acquired by Tecomet in October 2016.
“We are thrilled to add Accu-Tube to our portfolio and we will invest our capital, expertise and resources to significantly expand Accu-Tube’s operations, manufacturing footprint, and employee base,” said Bob Knibb, a Partner at Washington Equity. “In addition, we are also eager to pursue potential acquisitions of companies that have complementary tubing capabilities.”
Washington Equity Partners makes control equity investments of $5 million to $50 million in lower middle market businesses with EBITDA from $3 million to $15 million. Sectors of interest include aerospace, defense, and government contracting; industrial and advanced manufacturing; and software and technology. The firm is headquartered in McLean, VA (www.w-equity.com).
Plexus Capital (www.plexuscap.com) and Private Advisors (www.privateadvisors.com) provided debt and equity financing in support of the transaction.
EdgePoint (www.edgepoint.com) was the financial advisor to Accu-Tube on this transaction.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | August 22, 2018