Nexus Brands Group, a portfolio company of Bunker Hill Capital, has acquired Kingpin Tattoo Supply. Kingpin Tattoo will operate alongside TATSoul – a supplier of furniture, equipment and consumable supplies to the tattoo industry – which Bunker Hill acquired in November 2015. According to Bunker Hill, this combination creates the largest manufacturer and distributor of tattoo supplies in North America.
Kingpin Tattoo Supply is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of needles, tubes, inks, machines, medical supplies and body piercing accessories. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in St. Petersburg, FL (www.kingpintattoosupply.com).
Nexus Brands Group is a platform company formed by Bunker Hill to hold and operate businesses that it acquired through the purchase of ImportLA in November 2015. The company’s brands and businesses design, manufacture, market and distribute furniture, equipment and supplies to professional customers serving the tattoo, pet grooming and spa/salon markets. Brand names include TATSoul (tattoo furniture and supplies), ComfortGroom (pet grooming tables and accessories), and ComfortSoul (massage, facial and pedicure furniture and accessories). The company is headquartered near Los Angeles in Baldwin Park, CA (www.tatsoul.com) (www.comfortgroom.com) (www.comfortsoul.com).
With closing of the acquisition of Kingpin, Bunker Hill has named Brian Etter as chief executive officer of Nexus Brands. Mr. Etter was most recently the chief executive officer of Motorsport Aftermarket Group (MAG), a portfolio company of Leonard Green & Partners and a designer, manufacturer and marketer of branded aftermarket parts and accessories for motorcycles. MAG was sold in 2014 to LDI, an Indianapolis-based family office that invests capital for the Lacy family – the founders of the US Corrugated Fiber Box Company.
“Brian’s terrific job guiding MAG through a fourfold increase in revenue, the acquisition and integration of six companies and the management of eighteen brands worldwide within an enthusiast market gives us great confidence that Brian is the ideal person to lead Nexus Brands Group,” said Rufus Clark, Managing Partner, Bunker Hill Capital.
Bunker Hill makes control investments in lower middle market companies with EBITDAs between $5 million and $20 million, and enterprise values up to $120 million. Sectors of interest include industrial products, business services, consumer products, and specialty retail. The firm has offices in Boston and San Diego (www.bunkerhillcapital.com).
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