News

Acquisition

November 04, 2013

Saxco International, LLC, A Portfolio Company of The Sterling Group, Acquires Synergy Glass & Packaging

Saxco International, LLC, the market leader in the distribution of rigid packaging for the liquor, wine and craft beer industry has acquired Synergy Glass & Packaging; it was announced by Matthew Malenfant, chief executive officer of Saxco International. Based in Benicia, California, Synergy and its former affiliates has been distributing glass bottles and packaging solutions to the wine and food industries since 2003.

Saxco’s partnerships with North American glass, plastic and closure manufacturers, as well as its unparalleled global sourcing capabilities, allow it to deliver highly customized solutions to serve its customers’ packaging needs. “Synergy’s customer focused business model has the same culture of high touch service as that of Saxco and we are excited about Synergy being part of the Saxco team,” said Malenfant. “While continuing Synergy’s tradition of providing quality packaging and service, we look forward to using Saxco’s operating scale to add additional value to Synergy’s customers.”

Financial details of this acquisition remain confidential.

 

About Saxco International, LLC

Saxco International, LLC, “Your choice for premium packaging solutions,” has more than 30 years of industry experience, providing a broad range of packaging products and services to the liquor, wine, beer and food industries. In addition to supplying packaging enhancement products, the company’s services include expert consultation from design to development. Saxco is headquartered in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with offices in Mountainside, New Jersey; Cincinnati, Ohio; Louisville, Kentucky; Oakland, Fairfield and Napa, California; Vancouver, WA; Tampa, Florida; Hook Hampshire, England and Qingdao, China. Additional details at 215-443-8100, fax 215-443-8370 or the web at www.saxco.com.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results and all investments are subject to loss.

 



Acquisition

September 30, 2013

The Sterling Group Completes the Acquisitions of ROM Corporation and Specialty Manufacturing, Inc.

The Sterling Group, a middle market private equity firm based in Houston, Texas, today announced that its affiliated investment fund, Sterling Group Partners III, L.P., has completed the acquisition of ROM Corporation (“ROM”) and Specialty Manufacturing, Inc. (“SMI”), combining the businesses through its holding company, Safe Fleet Acquisition Corp. The investment is Sterling’s fifth investment in its third fund, an $820 million fund raised in 2010. The companies were formerly owned but independently operated and financed by Century Park Capital Partners.

Headquartered in Belton, Missouri, the newly combined company provides safety-and productivity-oriented components to the emergency vehicle, truck and trailer, utility vehicle, school bus, and transit bus end markets. Together, ROM and SMI maintain a leading market position across the majority of its niche product lines. The company’s value-added products focus on enhancing worker safety and productivity and are characterized by their durability, reliability, and versatility in usage and application.

“ROM and SMI offer a powerful combination of two market leading businesses that have consistently and reliably provided safety related equipment to fleets in their respective industries for a collective 88 years,” said Gary Rosenthal, Partner at The Sterling Group. “The combination of these two businesses allows us to draw on the strengths of the two legacy organizations. Sterling will work closely with management to further improve operations and take advantage of numerous strategic and acquisition related opportunities.”

“We are pleased to partner with Sterling to bring these two companies together, deepen our product offerings, and expand our ability to serve our customers,” said Joe Uebbing, former CEO of SMI and newly appointed CEO of Safe Fleet. Jeff Hupke, former CEO of ROM and President of Safe Fleet added, “Sterling has a history of successfully integrating numerous middle market acquisitions over many years, and we look forward growing the combined business together.”

The acquisition was financed with equity from Sterling Group Partners III, L.P. First lien financing was arranged by BNP Paribas, and second lien debt was provided by Oaktree Capital Mezzanine.

About The Sterling Group

Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, distribution and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies range from $100 million to $500 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 43 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of approximately $10.1 billion. Currently, Sterling has $1.2 billion of committed capital under management through three funds. Current portfolio companies include CST Industries, Universal Fiber Systems, Express, B&G Crane, Saxco International, Stackpole International, Liqui-Box, Dexter Axle and ROM-SMI (Safe Fleet).

Past performance is no guarantee of future results and all investments are subject to loss.



Acquisition

November 01, 2012

The Sterling Group Completes the Acquisition of Dexter Axle from Tomkins Industries, Inc.

The Sterling Group, a middle market private equity firm based in Houston, Texas, today announced that its affiliated investment fund, Sterling Group Partners III, L.P., has completed the acquisition of the Dexter Axle business from Tomkins Industries, Inc., a subsidiary of Pinafore Holdings B.V. The investment is Sterling’s fourth investment in its third fund, an $820 million fund raised in 2010. Dexter is the second business Sterling has acquired from Tomkins in the last fourteen months.

Dexter is a leading designer and manufacturer of trailer axle, brake, and suspension assemblies and related replacement parts and components for use primarily in the industrial and utility trailer and RV markets in North America. “For over 50 years, Dexter has provided customers with the highest quality axles in the industry,” said Adam Dexter, CEO of Dexter. “The entire team is thrilled by Sterling’s support of our business, our culture, and our commitment to delivering the best customer service and product quality in the trailer running gear market.”

During its thirty year history, Sterling has sponsored the carve-out of 22 businesses from larger corporate parents, including multiple acquisitions from DuPont, British Petroleum and Tomkins. “We are excited about the opportunity to draw on our deep experience with corporate carve-outs to transition Dexter to a stand-alone business,” said Kevin Garland, Partner at The Sterling Group. “We look forward to partnering closely with management to achieve new levels of profitability and create value for all shareholders.”

The acquisition was financed with equity from Sterling Group Partners III, L.P. and several other co-investors. Senior debt financing was arranged by BNP Paribas and mezzanine debt was provided by Hancock Capital Management and Fifth Street Capital.

 

About The Sterling Group

Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, distribution and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies range from $100 million to $500 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 42 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of approximately $9.9 billion. Currently, Sterling has $1.1 billion of committed capital under management through three funds. Current portfolio companies include CST Industries, Universal Fiber Systems, Express, B&G Crane, Saxco International, Stackpole International, Liqui-Box and Dexter Axle.

 

Past performance is no guarantee of future results and all investments are subject to a loss.



Acquisition

September 27, 2012

The Sterling Group to Acquire Dexter Axle from Tomkins Industries Inc.

The Sterling Group, a middle market private equity firm based in Houston, Texas, today announced that its affiliated investment fund, Sterling Group Partners III, L.P., entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire all of the equity interests that comprise the Dexter Axle business from Tomkins Industries, Inc., a subsidiary of Pinafore Holdings B.V.

The Dexter Axle business manufactures trailer axle, brake and suspension assemblies and related replacement parts and components. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to occur in the last quarter of 2012.

About The Sterling Group

Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, distribution and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies range from $100 million to $500 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 41 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of approximately $9.5 billion. Currently, Sterling has $1.2 billion of committed capital under management through three funds. Current portfolio companies include CST Industries, Universal Fiber Systems, Velcon Filters, Express, B&G Crane, Saxco International, Stackpole International and Liqui-Box. Upon closing this transaction, Sterling will have completed 22 corporate carve-outs in its 30 year history.

 

 

 



Acquisition

August 07, 2012

Stackpole International, a Portfolio Company of The Sterling Group, Completes Refinancing

The Sterling Group announced today that its portfolio company, Stackpole International (“Stackpole”) completed the refinancing of its outstanding debt on August 2, 2012.  Stackpole is a manufacturer and sole source supplier of highly-engineered oil pumps and powdered metal components to automotive original equipment manufacturers.  Sterling acquired Stackpole on August 2, 2011 from Gates Canada, a subsidiary of Tomkins.

 Stackpole raised $165 million of senior financing from a syndicate of banks, arranged by RBC and CIBC.  The proceeds of the refinancing were used to repay existing outstanding debt, including eliminating all mezzanine debt from the original transaction. The refinancing will result in a reduction of Stackpole’s annual debt interest costs by over 50%.

 Under Sterling’s ownership, Stackpole has experienced considerable growth and has expanded both its customer base and geographic end markets. This refinancing provides additional financial flexibility for Stackpole to continue to implement its growth strategy.

About Stackpole International

 Headquartered in Ancaster, Ontario, Stackpole is a market leader in both oil pumps and powdered metals and has established a long-standing track record with fifty-five years of manufacturing expertise. Stackpole’s products are specified into powertrain (engine and transmission) platforms that have an average lifecycle of ten to fifteen years. These platforms underpin approximately 400+ vehicle nameplates. Stackpole currently has twelve manufacturing facilities and technical centers in North America, Europe, China and Korea.

About The Sterling Group

Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, distribution and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies range from $100 million to $500 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 41 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of approximately $9.5 billion. Currently, Sterling has $1.2 billion of committed capital under management through three funds. Current portfolio companies include North American Energy Partners, CST Industries, Universal Fiber Systems, Velcon Filters, Express, B&G Crane, Saxco International, Stackpole International and Liqui-Box.



Acquisition

May 01, 2012

Velcon Filters, LLC, a Portfolio Company of The Sterling Group, Completes Acquisition of Warner Lewis GmbH

Velcon Filters, LLC, a  manufacturer of industrial filtration systems, today announced that it has acquired Warner Lewis GmbH. Velcon is a portfolio company of The Sterling Group, a middle market private equity firm based in Houston, Texas, and was acquired in 2009 as a platform to execute a buy-and-build strategy.

Headquartered in Kelsterbach, Germany with locations in Phillipsburg, Germany; Farnborough, UK; Paris, France; and Dubai, UAE; Warner Lewis offers aircraft refueling solutions to customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”).  Warner Lewis has been a strategic business partner of Velcon for over 40 years distributing Velcon’s line of products, in addition to manufacturing its own standard or custom vessels, pit-boxes and ground fueling products. The acquisition of Warner Lewis represents an opportunity for Velcon to directly serve customers in EMEA.

Velcon manufactures filtration systems, primarily for the jet fuel market, including vessels and replacement cartridges which meet specific requirements for fluid filtration processes in a variety of domestic and international end-markets.  Keith McAslan, President of Velcon said, “Since 1969, Warner Lewis has been the recognized leader for aircraft fueling components and solutions in EMEA and has been Velcon’s exclusive distributor in that region. As Velcon looks toward its 60th anniversary in 2013, we are pleased to join with Warner Lewis and directly provide a broader range of products and solutions to our aviation customers in the Americas and EMEA.”

This is the third acquisition for Velcon in the past three years. Velcon acquired Chemflo in late 2009 to expand its product offering into the energy markets, and in 2010 acquired Twin Filter B.V. in the Netherlands to diversify and grow its business in the oil, liquid and air filtration markets.  “We are excited to expand in the aviation fuel market where Velcon is a market leader in filtration and Warner Lewis is a trusted provider of filtration and refueling solutions,” Greg Elliott, Partner of The Sterling Group and Chairman of the Board of Velcon said. “Velcon’s acquisitions over the past three years have strengthened the global footprint, scale and organic growth opportunities of the business, and we expect that Warner Lewis will have a significant impact as well.” The acquisition was financed with debt from BNP Paribas, Amegy Bank of Texas and BBVA Compass.

About Velcon Filters, LLC

Velcon Filters, LLC, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is a niche manufacturer of filtration systems, including vessels and replacement cartridges, that meet specific requirements for fluid filtration processes in a variety of domestic and international end-markets. The company’s aviation division, through Velcon branded product lines, is a global leader in the filtration process for aviation fuel delivery, engineering and manufacturing products that filter, purify and remove water and containments from aviation fuel along the transport chain from the refinery to the aircraft.  Velcon’s process division, through its Twin Filter brand, engineers, manufactures and markets equipment and replacement cartridges for the oil, liquid and air filtration markets in Europe, Asia, North America and other international markets.

About The Sterling Group, L.P.

Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, distribution and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies range from $100 million to $500 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 41 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of approximately $9.5 billion. Currently, Sterling has $1.2 billion of committed capital under management through three funds. Current portfolio companies include North American Energy Partners, CST Industries, Roofing Supply Group, Universal Fiber Systems, Velcon Filters, Express, B&G Crane Service, Saxco International, Stackpole International and Liqui-Box.

Franny Jones
713.341.5756
fjones@sterling-group.com
www.sterling-group.com



Acquisition

December 30, 2011

The Sterling Group Acquires Liqui-Box from Dupont

The Sterling Group (“Sterling”), a Houston based private equity investment firm, today announced that its affiliated investment fund, Sterling Group Partners III, L.P., has completed the acquisition of the Liqui-Box Corporation (“Liqui-Box”) from DuPont. The acquisition is Sterling’s third investment in its third fund, an $820 million fund raised in 2010. Liqui-Box is the twenty-first corporate carve-out in Sterling’s thirty year history and the fourth business Sterling has acquired from DuPont.

Headquartered in Worthington, Ohio, Liqui-Box is a leading supplier of bag-in-box flexible packaging to the global dairy, beverage and bulk food markets. Bag-in-box packaging is primarily used in the foodservice industry to package dairy mix for milkshakes and coffee drinks, fountain beverage syrup and pumpable liquid foods such as food concentrates and sauces. Liqui-Box also produces pouches and rigid plastic water bottles. The company’s product offering includes consumables, such as fitmented bags and pouch films, as well as filling machines.

“The entire Liqui-Box team is energized to partner with Sterling who has a proven track record of successfully transitioning unique, specialty businesses like ours to more nimble, stand alone companies and equipping them for future growth. We look forward to executing on a number of initiatives to expand our business and enhance our delivery of top quality products to our customers,” said Roszann Graham, CEO of Liqui-Box.

Greg Elliott, a Partner of Sterling noted, “Roszann and her team have done an exceptional job positioning Liqui-Box as a leading provider of bag-in-box packaging solutions. Over the past several years, Liqui-Box has streamlined its operations to focus on its core products. Our focus now is to expand our global footprint, invest in technology and expand our offering of solutions to our customers.”

The acquisition was financed with equity from Sterling Group Partners III, L.P. Senior debt financing was provided by BNP Paribas and BMO, and mezzanine debt was provided by Oaktree Capital Management.

About The Sterling Group, L.P.
Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, distribution and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies range from $100 million to $500 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 41 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of approximately $9.5 billion. Currently, Sterling has $1.3 billion of committed capital under management through three funds. Current portfolio companies include North American Energy Partners, CST Industries, Roofing Supply Group, Universal Fiber Systems, Velcon Filters, Express, B&G Crane, Saxco International and Stackpole International. The Sterling Group has a proven track record with corporate carve-outs, as over half of its transactions over the last thirty years have been the purchases of businesses from large corporations.

For additional information, please contact:
The Sterling Group, L.P.
Franny Jones
(713) 341-5756
fjones@sterling-group.com



Acquisition

December 30, 2011

Roofing Supply Group, LLC Acquires Intermountain Supply, Inc.

Roofing Supply Group, LLC (“RSG”), a national leader in the wholesale distribution of roofing supplies and related materials, today announced that it has acquired Intermountain Supply, Inc. (“IMS”). RSG is a portfolio company of The Sterling Group, L.P.

With locations in Seattle and Spokane, Washington, IMS is a leading distributor of residential and commercial roofing supplies and other building materials in the region. “Founded in 1995, Intermountain Supply has established itself as the leading roofing supply distributor in the state of Washington and throughout the Northwestern US and has an excellent reputation,” said Mike Farrell, President and CEO of RSG. “We had identified Washington as an attractive market for RSG’s entry in 2011, and we are thrilled to partner with the IMS team to extend our footprint into this new geographic region.”

RSG operates a strategic distribution network of 58 branches across 23 states, focused exclusively on residential and commercial roofing products and accessories. The IMS acquisition further strengthens RSG’s geographic position and ability to serve its customer base.

About Roofing Supply Group
Roofing Supply Group, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is one of the largest wholesale distributors of roofing supplies and related materials in the United States. Through its network of 58 branches in 23 states, RSG provides one-step distribution services from roofing product manufacturers to roofing contractors and homebuilders. Each branch carries a complete line of roofing products for residential and commercial roofing, including composition asphalt shingles, underlayment, and associated ancillary products.

For additional information, please contact:
Roofing Supply Group, LLC
Paul Drobnitch
(214) 956-5184
pdrobnitch@rsgroof.com

For additional information, please contact:
The Sterling Group, L.P.
Franny Jones
(713) 341-5756
fjones@sterling-group.com



Acquisition

August 02, 2011

The Sterling Group Acquires Stackpole International from Gates Canada

The Sterling Group (“Sterling”), a Houston based private equity investment firm, today announced that its affiliated investment fund, Sterling Group Partners III, L.P., has completed the acquisition of the Stackpole International (“Stackpole”) business from Gates Canada (a subsidiary of Pinafore Holdings PV). The acquisition is Sterling’s second investment in its third fund, an $820 million fund raised in 2010, and is the twentieth corporate carve-out in its twenty-nine year history.

The acquisition was financed with equity from Sterling Group Partners III, L.P., Current Capital LLC and several other co-investors. Senior debt financing was provided by RBC Capital Markets, BNP Paribas and UBS and mezzanine debt was provided by Hancock Capital Management, Fifth Street and Global Leveraged Capital.

Stackpole was founded in 1952 and was acquired by Gates in 2003. Headquartered in Ancaster, Ontario, Stackpole is a manufacturer and sole source supplier of highly-engineered oil pumps and powdered metal components to automotive original equipment manufacturers. Stackpole is a market leader in both oil pumps and powdered metals and has established a long-standing track record with fifty-five years of manufacturing expertise. Stackpole’s products are specified into powertrain (engine and transmission) platforms that have an average lifecycle of ten to fifteen years. These platforms underpin approximately 400+ vehicle nameplates. Stackpole currently has twelve manufacturing facilities and technical centers in North America, Europe, China and Korea.

“The entire management team is thrilled to partner with Sterling to return Stackpole to a standalone business. Over the next few years, our business will have the opportunity to expand in North America and significantly increase its presence in Europe and Asia. We feel that Sterling’s historical experience in effectively guiding the growth of manufacturing businesses such as ours, as well as their access to capital to support our growth needs, will be tremendous assets for our company,” said Peter Ballantyne, President and CEO of Stackpole.

Kent Wallace, a Partner of Sterling noted, “We are very excited to have the opportunity to work with Pete, the rest of the Stackpole management team and the employees to continue to expand the company’s global manufacturing platform. We are confident the company will continue to build on its outstanding reputation for consistently manufacturing and delivering critical components.”

About The Sterling Group, L.P.
Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, distribution and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies range from $100 million to $500 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 40 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of approximately $9.4 billion. Currently, Sterling has $1.3 billion of committed capital under management through three funds. Current portfolio companies include North American Energy Partners, CST Industries, Roofing Supply Group, Universal Fiber Systems, Velcon Filters, Express, B&G Crane and Saxco International. The Sterling Group has a proven track record with corporate carve-outs as half of its transactions over the last thirty years have been the purchases of businesses from large corporations.

For additional information, please contact:
The Sterling Group, L.P.
Franny McKay Jones
(713) 341-5756
fjones@sterling-group.com



Acquisition

June 29, 2011

B&G Crane Service Acquires the Texas Assets of Ray Anthony International

B&G Crane Service, LLC (“B&G”), provider of operated and maintained mobile crane services, heavy rigging and specialty hauling services today announced that it has completed the acquisition of substantially all of the Texas-based assets of Ray Anthony International, LLC (“RAI”). B&G is a portfolio company of an affiliate of The Sterling Group, L.P. (“Sterling”), a Houston-based private equity investment firm.

Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, B&G has a fleet of over 100 mobile cranes ranging from 6 to 825 tons in capacity and a truck fleet of over 50 vehicles. The company’s crane rental fleet consists primarily of mobile all terrain, hydraulic truck, lattice boom crawler and tough terrain cranes. The specialty hauling division includes modular platform trailers, gantry lift systems and specialty truck hauling capabilities. B&G’s primary market consists of petrochemical, refining and industrial customers within a 150 mile radius of the company’s New Orleans and Baton Rouge facilities.

The acquisition of the majority of RAI’s Texas fleet, consisting of 23 cranes (4 – 240 tons in capacity) and the accompanying trucks, trailers and other assets, represents B&G’s initial expansion into the Texas Gulf Coast market. B&G expects to transfer additional cranes from its Louisiana-based fleet and also anticipates buying several new cranes to service the Texas market. “The addition of RAI’s Baytown and Beaumont, Texas locations and corresponding fleets will enable B&G to better serve our customer base across an expanded geographical area,” said B&G’s CEO Xavier J. Grilletta Jr., whose father founded the company in 1946. “We are excited to partner with the RAI employees to provide the same high quality, safe and customized service to our clients in Texas that we have been providing in the Louisiana Gulf Coast market for the past 60 years.”

“The acquisition of the RAI assets accelerates B&G’s entrance into the Texas Gulf Coast market and positions the company to capitalize on the area’s myriad petrochemical, refining and heavy industrial facilities,” noted Kent Wallace, a Partner at Sterling.

About B&G Crane Service, LLC
B&G Crane Service, LLC has been locally operated in New Orleans by the Grilletta family since 1946. B&G has played an instrumental role in the support of the construction industry of the city and the surrounding region. Operating for over 60 years, B&G now has three generations involved in management and daily operations. With corporate headquarters located in New Orleans and branch offices in Metairie and Baton Rouge, its service area is concentrated in southeastern Louisiana, however B&G’s mobile fleet can service its customers throughout the southeastern United States. Staffed by a highly skilled work force, B&G operates with a continuously updated fleet of over 100 cranes ranging from 4 ton to 825 ton capacities and a supporting truck fleet in excess of 50 vehicles. B&G is dedicated to maintaining its position as an industry front-runner in providing the highest quality, most dependable, safest and most economical service in crane rental, heavy rigging and specialty hauling.

About The Sterling Group, L.P.
Founded in 1982, The Sterling Group is a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, distribution and industrial services companies. Typical enterprise values of these companies range from $100 million to $500 million. Sterling has sponsored the buyout of 39 platform companies and numerous add-on acquisitions for a total transaction value of approximately $9.0 billion. Currently, Sterling has $1.3 billion of committed capital under management through three funds. Current portfolio companies include North American Energy Partners, CST Industries, Roofing Supply Group, Universal Fiber Systems, Velcon Filters, Express, B&G and Saxco International.

For additional information, please contact:
The Sterling Group, L.P.
Kent Wallace
(713) 341-5754
kwallace@sterling-group.com