Weinberg Capital Group has acquired HoodMart, a designer, manufacturer and seller of ventilation systems used in the commercial cooking industry. The company’s founder and Chairman, Daniel Reaser, Sr., will remain a shareholder of the company and serve on the board of directors.
HoodMart was founded in 2000 and was originally established as a traditional commercial cooking equipment manufacturer utilizing large national equipment distributors to market its products. In 2004, the company began supplying exhaust hoods under the HoodMart brand directly to restaurateurs and kitchen managers. Today, HoodMart’s customers include individual restaurateurs, small restaurant groups, HVAC installers and smaller commercial kitchens such as those found in convenience stores and office cafeterias. The company is headquartered near Cleveland in Elyria, OH (www.hoodmart.com).
According to Weinberg Capital Group, HoodMart is the market leader for factory direct sales of commercial exhaust hoods. “We are very pleased to be partnering with Mr. Reaser and his talented team,” said Ronald (Chip) Weinberg, Jr., a Managing Director and Principal at Weinberg Capital Group. “We look forward to augmenting the in-place team with our operating experience and relationships to make HoodMart an even more valuable partner to its customers and installer partners.”
Senior financing for the transaction was provided by First National Bank (www.fnb-online.com). F.N.B. Capital Partners (www.fnbcp.com) provided $10 million of mezzanine financing and also made an equity co-investment.
Accounting due diligence was provided by HW&Co. (www.hwco.com) and Kohrman Jackson & Krantz (www.kjk.com) provided legal counsel to Weinberg.
Weinberg Capital Group specializes in acquiring middle-market companies that are based in North America and have annual revenues from $15 million to $100 million and EBITDAs ranging from $2 million to $10 million. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, business services, medical and healthcare, aviation services, consumer products, and value-added distribution. The firm is based in Cleveland (www.weinbergcap.com).
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-6-16
