SAN FRANCISCO & CARSON, Calif. & LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Golden Gate Capital, a leading private equity investment firm, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority equity stake in DMC Power (“DMC” or the “Company”), a leading designer and manufacturer of proprietary connector technology systems for high voltage power infrastructure. Tony Ward will continue to lead the Company as Chief Executive Officer and will remain a significant shareholder. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
As part of the transaction, Bridgepoint, a global private equity firm, will exit its investment through the sale of its stake to Golden Gate Capital. DMC Power was retained by Bridgepoint in 2013 when it sold Permaswage to Precision Castparts Corporation. Bridgepoint recognized DMC’s potential to be a standalone, innovative industrial technology company that could produce more energy efficient, cost-effective and sustainable connection solutions for the North American power and utility industry.
The Company operates two manufacturing facilities in Carson, CA and Olive Branch, MS, along with multiple distribution facilities strategically located across North America. With a team of over 200 employees, DMC Power is also a category leader in employee health and safety and environmental sustainability.
Tony Ward said: “Thanks to our dedicated team and productive partnership with Bridgepoint, DMC Power has grown rapidly over the past decade and established itself as an industry leader. Our success is reflected in the strong and longstanding relationships we have created with our customers, who have come to value the unmatched quality, service and lead times our platform provides. We are confident Golden Gate Capital is the ideal partner for the next leg of our journey, as their deep industrial expertise and additional development resources will fuel our continued market expansion and ability to serve new and existing customers.”
Javier Puig, Managing Director at Golden Gate Capital, said: “DMC Power is a true pioneer of next-generation power connectors. There is strong momentum already underway at the Company and we look forward to working with Tony and the rest of the team to capture even more opportunities across the dynamic power landscape.”
Felix Lo, Managing Director at Golden Gate Capital, said: “DMC Power is well-positioned to accelerate its growth trajectory by capitalizing on several compelling secular tailwinds and increasing adoption of its next-gen swage connectors, as well as expanding into new applications and end markets. We congratulate the Bridgepoint team on this successful partnership, which we plan to continue in DMC Power’s next chapter.”
Michael Davy, Partner of Bridgepoint and Chairman of DMC Power, said: “DMC Power has had a remarkable growth journey – and has increased its annual profits 20-fold during our ownership period. Through its investment in DMC Power, Bridgepoint identified and developed a new connector technology which is transforming the high voltage electricity transmission and distribution market. The products sales are growing strongly in North America and now have potential internationally. We look forward to seeing DMC Power build upon these achievements and wish the team every success for the future.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
Baird served as financial advisor and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal advisor to Golden Gate Capital. Harris Williams served as financial advisor and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP served as legal advisor to DMC Power and Bridgepoint. KPMG and EY Parthenon also advised Bridgepoint.
About DMC Power
DMC Power designs and manufactures the highest quality connection systems for transmission, distribution, substation, and industrial projects. Our unique Swage system, comprised of custom designed Power Connectors and a patented 360° Radial Swage Tool, has helped utilities around the world finish their projects with just the push of a button.
About Golden Gate Capital
Golden Gate Capital is a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with over $19 billion in cumulative committed capital. With a long-term investment philosophy, the principals of Golden Gate Capital have a long and successful history of investing across a wide range of industries and transaction types, including going-privates, corporate divestitures, and recapitalizations, as well as debt and public equity investments. For more information, visit www.goldengatecap.com.
About Bridgepoint
Bridgepoint is one of the world’s leading quoted private asset growth investors, specializing in private equity and private debt. With over $40 billion of assets under management and a strong local presence in Europe, North America, and China, we combine global scale with local market insight and sector expertise, consistently delivering strong returns through cycles.
With our dedicated Bridgepoint North American team, we invest in growth companies across multiple sectors, including Technology, Advanced Industrials, Healthcare, and Business and Financial Services. Our current North American portfolio is represented by investments in Humanetics, Kyriba, Balt, Sun World, Avalere, Qualitest, MiQ, Flexitallic, SendinBlue, and Vitamin Well, along with past investments in DMC Power, Calypso, eFront, and Pret A Manger. For more information, visit www.bridgepoint.eu.
Contacts
Media
For Golden Gate Capital:
FGS Global
GoldenGate@fgsglobal.com
Bridgepoint
Nicole Gregory
Nicole.Gregory@Bridgepoint.eu
+44 (0) 7867 069 198