Global Fastener News

May 25, 2012 FIN – Deal-making activity in the global fastener industry continued at a strong pace during 2011, Richard Hagan summarized his annual Top Ten Fastener Acquisitions.

“By our count, there were a total of 29 fastener company acquisitions completed worldwide last year,” said Hagan, president of investment banker Pinnacle Capital Corp., which specializes in arranging fastener acquisitions. “This number is closely comparable to the total of 30 fastener deals completed during 2010.”
Through mid-April this year, there have not been enough fastener deals completed to keep pace with the last two years. “We believe this is simply a ‘timing quirk’,” Hagan explained. “There are numerous fastener company transactions pending and in process at this time and we believe the appetite for deals by both buyers and sellers is healthy. Therefore, we do not anticipate a slowdown in deal activity and we expect the number of fastener deals completed during 2012 will be comparable to the number completed in the prior two years.”

2011 — Top Ten Deals of the Year

By Richard P. Hagan, Pinnacle Capital Corporation

(arranged in chronological order)
In March, Alcoa Fastening Systems purchased McKechnie Fasteners from TransDigm Group Inc. (NYSE: TDG).
McKechnie Fasteners is comprised of two companies:  (1) Valley-Todeco Inc. located in Sylmar, CA; and  (2) Linread Limited, with manufacturing plants in Leicester and Redditch in the United Kingdom. The two companies employ 400 people and manufacture a broad range of high-strength, specialty-alloy threaded fasteners and spherical, slotted-entry bearings for commercial, military and general aviation aircraft. 
In the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2010, McKechnie Fasteners generated sales of $65 million.
McKechnie Fasteners was acquired by TransDigm Group in December 2010 as part of the purchase of McKechnie Aerospace Holdings Inc. from a private equity owner. 
With this sale, TransDigm Group divested 22% of the total net sales of McKechnie and recouped 19% of the total purchase price paid for McKechnie.
Purchase price: $240 million

In May, Porteous Fastener Company purchased the business assets of Heads & Threads International LLC.
HTI is an importer and stocking master distributor of industrial fasteners and related assembly hardware with five distribution centers in:  Chicago (headquarters);  Sayreville, NJ;  Atlanta;  Dallas; and Los Angeles. 
HTI was founded in 1953 and was one of the largest full-line fastener distributors in North America focused exclusively on supplying the distributor market.
Heads & Threads was a portfolio company of Capital Partners Inc., a private equity firm located in Greenwich, Connecticut.  Capital Partners acquired Heads & Threads from Alleghany Corporation (NYSE: Y) in December 2004 for $53.8 million. 
Following the transaction closing, the operations of Heads & Threads were consolidated into existing Porteous operations, which has warehouses near each of the five Heads & Threads warehouses. 
Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Carson, CA, PFC is the largest privately-owned importer and master distributor of fasteners in the U.S.
Purchase price: not available

In June, Genstar Capital LLC purchased MW Industries Inc. from Brockway Moran & Partners Inc.
MW Industries manufactures engineered mechanical components, including highly-engineered springs, specialty fasteners, machined components, precision stampings and custom wire forms.
MW is headquartered in Logansport, IN and is comprised of 13 operating units located in nine states.  MW Industries manufactures more than 40,000 products for end-user industries such as electronics, medical, automotive, military & aerospace, energy, agriculture, heavy truck and high-end motor sports.
MW Industries was acquired by Brockway Moran and CITIC Capital Partners (both are private equity firms) in November 2006. 
Genstar Capital is a San Francisco-based private equity firm with more than $3 billion of committed capital under management.
Purchase price: not available

In July, Facil & Cie G.C.V. (“Facil”) purchased Flexalloy Inc. from Acument Global Technologies Inc.
Flexalloy is a distributor of fasteners and related assembly hardware, providing value-added supply chain management services to manufacturing OEMs.
The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in the Cleveland suburb of Twinsburg, OH.
Flexalloy focuses primarily on supplying the North American automotive and truck markets and its largest customer is Daimler Trucks of North America.  The company operates four full-service distribution facilities in the U.S. and Mexico.
Facil, headquartered in Genk, Belgium, is a full-service distributor of fasteners and assembly hardware.
Facil was established in 1999 as a strategic alliance between Germany-based KAMAX-Werke Rudolf Kellermann GmbH & Co. and France-based A. Raymond & Cie.  Kamax manufactures bolts and screws for the automotive market.  A. Raymond is a manufacturer of metal and plastic clip fasteners for the automotive market.
Purchase price: not available

In July, Exponent Private Equity LLP purchased the Pattonair division of Umeco plc (London Stock Exchange: UMC).
Pattonair is a global distributor of fasteners and related hardware to the aerospace market.  The company has more than 1,000 customers and provides logistics and supply chain management services to virtually all segments of the aerospace and defense industries.
Pattonair is headquartered in Derby, UK and operates a total of 16 distribution and sales offices around the world – 8 in Europe, 6 in North America and 2 in Asia.  The company employs more than 770 people in 10 countries. 
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, Pattonair generated net sales of £252.5 million and EBITDA of £15.8 million.
Exponent Private Equity is a London-based private equity firm with £1.2 billion under management.  Exponent invests exclusively in companies headquartered in the UK.
Purchase price: £145.8 million (with £8.0 million paid in equal installments over four years)

In August, Greenbriar Equity Group LLC purchased the Aerospace Hardware division of Anixter International Inc. (NYSE: AXE).
Upon completion of this transaction, Anixter’s Aerospace Hardware division was Align Aerospace is a global distributor of fasteners and related hardware to the aerospace market.
The company has more than 1,100 customers and provides logistics and supply chain management services to virtually all segments of the aerospace and defense industries.  Align Aerospace is headquartered in Chatsworth, CA and also maintains full-service warehouses in:  Arlington, TX; Collegien, France (outside Paris); and Boucherville, Canada (near Montreal).  The company employs approximately 325 people worldwide. 
In the 1st half of 2011,
Align Aerospace generated net sales of $94.1 million and EBITDA of $12.0 million.
Greenbriar Equity Group is a Rye, NY-based private equity firm with $1.5 billion of committed capital.
Purchase price: $185 million  ($155 million cash and a $30 million earn-out)

In August, Audax Group purchased Elgin Fastener Group LLC from a fund which is jointly managed by GFI Energy Ventures LLC and Oaktree Capital Management LLC.
Elgin Fastener Group manufactures a diverse range of cold-headed, externally-threaded, specialty and semi-standard fasteners.
Elgin is comprised of three principal business units:  Ohio Rod Products in Versailles, IN; Leland Powell Fasteners in Martin, TN; and Chandler Products in Cleveland, OH.  Each EFG business unit produces a distinctly different product range for separate industrial applications and end-user markets. 
GFI Energy Ventures and Oaktree Capital acquired EFG in March 2007 when they purchased Elgin National Industries Inc.
Audax Group, founded in 1999, is a Boston-based private equity firm with more than $4.8 billion of capital under management.
Purchase price: not available

In August, W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE: GWW) purchased Fabory Group from HgCapital.
Fabory Group is a distributor of fasteners and related MRO products with operations in 14 countries throughout Europe.  Fabory Group is headquartered in Tilburg, the Netherlands and generated net sales of approximately €211 million (US$295 million) in 2010.
This acquisition significantly enhances Grainger’s presence across Europe – Fabory Group has 120 locations and more than 1,600 employees.  Grainger intends for Fabory Group to continue as a separate business unit, maintaining the Fabory name and brand. 
Fabory Group was acquired by HgCapital, a London-based private equity firm, in September 2007 for €345 million (US$485 million).
Purchase price: US$346 million

In August, Precision Castparts Corp. (NYSE: PCC) purchased PB Fasteners from the founding family.
PB Fasteners manufactures a range of bolts, screws, nuts and pins for the aerospace market.  The company produces industry standard parts and aerospace OEM standard parts (for Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and numerous others), along with specials and proprietary parts.
Specializing in fasteners for airframe applications, PB Fasteners’ developed its Sleevbot fastening system for mitigating  lightning strike impact on composite body aircraft, including the Boeing 787 and numerous military aircraft.
Founded in 1967, PB Fasteners is

In December, Filtrona plc (London Stock Exchange: FLTR) purchased Richco Inc. from the founding family.
Richco is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of engineered plastic fasteners, circuit board hardware, wire routing products, cable ties and a diverse range of plastic specialty assembly hardware.
Founded in 1954, Richco is based in Morton Grove, IL.
Richco operates four manufacturing facilities in the US, the UK, Spain and China, along with nine other distribution sites in North America, Europe and Asia.
Filtrona is a leading international supplier of specialty plastic and fiber products with four operating divisions:  Protection & Finishing Products; Porous Technologies; Coated & Security Products; and Filter Products.  Following the transaction closing, Richco became a business unit of Filtrona’s Protection & Finishing Products division.
Purchase price: $110 million     ©2012/2014 Fastener Industry News.
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For further details on the transactions or information about the investment banking services provided by Pinnacle Capital, contact Richard P. Hagan – President, 79 Pine St., Front 6, New York, NY 10005.  Tel: 212 267-8200  Email: rphagan@pinnaclecapitalcorp.com.  All contacts and inquiries will be held in the strictest confidence.