Evergreen Pacific Partners has acquired Vantage Mobility International, a manufacturer of wheelchair accessible vehicles.
Vantage Mobility International (VMI) is a manufacturer of wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs) and other mobility products. The company’s products are sold through a dealer network with retail locations throughout the United States and Canada. VMI is led by CEO Doug Eaton and CFO Tim Barone and both have retained significant ownership stakes in the company. VMI was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Phoenix (www.vantagemobility.com).
Evergreen Pacific Partners invests in traditional buyouts, management led buyouts, and growth equity investments in middle-market companies located in the western US and Canada. Sectors of interest include manufacturing; distribution; specialty packaging; consumer products; and cable television and radio. The firm has two private equity funds under management with capital totaling $700 million. Evergreen Pacific Partners is headquartered in Seattle (www.eppcapital.com).
Harris Williams & Co. (www.harriswilliams.com) acted as the exclusive financial advisor to VMI. The transaction was led by Todd Morris, James Clark, Andy Dixon, Andy Hewlett and Ricky Ng from the firm’s Healthcare & Life Sciences Group.
“This transaction is indicative of the strong interest that we have seen from both strategic and financial acquirers in the personal mobility sector, and in particular for businesses such as VMI that benefit from demographic and healthcare trends driving demand growth for accessibility solutions,” said Mr. Morris, a managing director in Harris Williams & Co.’s Healthcare & Life Sciences Group.
© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-5-14