GREENWICH, Conn. and OKLAHOMA CITY, Sept. 27,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- L Catterton, a
leading global consumer-focused investment firm, today announced
that it has entered into an agreement to sell AirX Climate
Solutions, Inc. ("ACS" or "the Company"), a leading designer,
manufacturer, distributor, and servicer of highly engineered,
functionally-critical products for specialty HVAC markets, to
Gryphon Investors ("Gryphon"). The terms of the transaction were
not disclosed.
L Catterton's partnership with ACS began with its 2018
investment in Airxcel, which was predominantly a supplier of
branded products to recreational vehicle OEMs (the "RV business").
ACS (formerly the "Specialty HVAC business") was less than 15% of
the company's revenues and not a prioritized business segment.
L Catterton saw that the Specialty HVAC business had massive
potential within a highly attractive category, benefiting from
increased demand for temperature-controlled environments for
sensitive infrastructure equipment in addition to the greater focus
on air quality and purification in industrial markets. Accordingly,
L Catterton separated the Specialty HVAC business in 2019 to
create a standalone business. Following the sale of the RV Business
to Thor Industries in September 2021,
L Catterton accelerated its efforts to grow the Specialty
HVAC business, which was rebranded as AirX Climate Solutions.
During its partnership with ACS, L Catterton worked with
management to drive a multi-pronged organic and inorganic value
creation strategy that generated 4x revenue growth over the
five-year period. These initiatives included further penetrating
high-growth end markets including data centers and battery storage,
product innovation, and operational and supply chain initiatives to
enhance efficiency. The Company also successfully executed and
integrated strategic add-on acquisitions.
Rick Aldridge, CEO of AirX
Climate Solutions, said, "With L Catterton's resources and
its operational insights, coupled with ACS' talented and dedicated
team, we have successfully grown ACS into a leading platform in the
specialty HVAC industry. We are proud of all that ACS has achieved
during our partnership with L Catterton, including enhancing
our value proposition to better serve our customers' critical needs
and becoming a leader in each of our diverse end markets. We are
now poised for our next chapter of growth with Gryphon and look
forward to building on our strong momentum."
Matt Lischick, a Partner in
L Catterton's Flagship Fund, said, "Since first partnering
with Airxcel in 2018, we saw significant opportunity in the ACS
business and are thrilled to have helped unleash its potential as a
standalone platform. By leveraging L Catterton's extensive
resources and investment experience, we supported the ACS team in
executing a multi-faceted growth strategy, including building out
the management team, developing innovative products, further
penetrating fast-growing markets, expanding wallet share from
existing customers, and executing successful acquisitions."
Marc Magliacano, a Managing
Partner in L Catterton's Flagship Fund, added, "We are
pleased to have now fully exited our investment in Airxcel, after
executing upon a number of strategic initiatives at both businesses
and successfully navigating two exit processes that have created
significant value for our investors. We are confident that the ACS
management team and Gryphon will continue building on ACS' success
in the future."
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of
2023, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and other
customary closing conditions. Baird and Nomura Securities International,
Inc. are acting as financial advisors to ACS on the
transaction.
About L Catterton
L Catterton is a market-leading consumer-focused
investment firm, managing approximately $34 billion of equity
capital and three multi-product platforms: private equity, credit,
and real estate. Leveraging deep category insight, operational
excellence, and a broad network of strategic relationships,
L Catterton's team of more than 200 investment and operating
professionals across 17 offices partners with management teams
to drive differentiated value creation across its portfolio.
Founded in 1989, the firm has made over 250 investments in some of
the world's most iconic consumer brands. For more information about
L Catterton, please visit www.lcatterton.com.
About AirX Climate Solutions
ACS provides highly engineered, specialty cooling and
ventilation solutions serving mission-critical applications across
a diverse set of end markets, including telecommunications, data
centers, energy storage, rental, educational, and
industrial/commercial markets. For decades, the Company has been
the preferred choice for organizations requiring high-quality and
highly-configurable HVAC systems operating in harsh environments.
With over 600 employees, ACS operates its manufacturing footprint
across Houston, Texas,
Cordele, Georgia, and Tulsa, Oklahoma with brands that include
Marvair, Custom Air Products (CAPS), Specific Systems, Eubank,
Industrial Climate Engineering (ICE) and Dynaline.
CONTACTS
L Catterton
Julie Hamilton
media@lcatterton.com
+1 203 742 5185
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SOURCE L Catterton