Incline Equity Partners has sold Double E Company, a maker of components for web converting applications, to River Associates Investments. Incline first invested in Double E in April 2012.
Double E’s product line includes wear components such as cores and chucks, core shafts, core plugs, fiberglass cores, rollers, shafted roll stands, and core cutters. These products are 
used to secure, straighten, apply tension, cut and move rolled raw materials through continuous manufacturing processes. Double E has an established brand name and a large installed base – more than 10,000 customers in the paper, film, foil, corrugated, packaging, and printing markets – which provides recurring replacement demand for its products. The company operates from three manufacturing facilities in the United States and Europe with additional sales offices in Colombia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Double E was founded in 1972 and is headquartered south of Boston in West Bridgewater, MA (www.ee-co.com).
Incline invests from $15 million to $30 million in support of recapitalizations, buyouts and corporate divestitures of lower middle market companies that have EBITDAs greater than $5 million and enterprise values between $50 million and $200 million. Sectors of interest include value-added distribution, specialized light manufacturing, and business and industrial services. Incline was formed in 2011 and is based in Pittsburgh (www.inclineequity.com).
River Associates Investments (RAI) invests in US and Canadian-based companies with revenues of $20 million to $100 million and EBITDA of $3 million to $12 million. Sectors of interest include niche manufacturing, high margin distribution, industrial services, and business services. The firm was founded in 1989 and to date has completed 80 investments, including platform and add-on acquisitions. RAI is based in Chattanooga, TN (www.riverassociatesllc.com).
Last month, RAI closed its seventh fund – River VII, LP – with total commitments of $285 million. The new fund was raised in approximately eight months and exceeded the original $250 million target. RAI’s earlier fund closed at an above target $222 million in May 2012.
The buy of Double E is Fund VII’s first portfolio company. RAI is actively seeking to businesses that manufacture similar or complementary components for the web converting market and have revenues greater than $5 million.
Birmingham, MI-based Quarton International was the financial advisor to Double E and Incline Equity Partners in this transaction.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | July 28, 2017
