Forest River Acquires Turtle Top, a Premier Bus & Specialty Vehicle Manufacturer
Forest River acquired the assets of Turtle Top, a premier luxury bus manufacturer based in New Paris, Indiana. Turtle Top, a family-owned RV manufacturer since 1962, is widely recognized today as a leader in the luxury transportation industry. Turtle Top designs and manufactures buses and specialty vehicles for some of the most prestigious names in the motor coach industry, as well as numerous state and government agencies. Turtle Top’s current bus models include the Van Terra, VT3, Odyssey, Odyssey XL, Odyssey XLT and MPV, which provide convenient and dependable transportation for colleges, churches, assisted living facilities, retirement communities, transportation companies and government agencies. In addition, Turtle Top’s specialty vehicle division builds everything from limousines to bloodmobiles and prisoner transport units to mobile offices.
“We are excited to welcome Turtle Top to the Forest River family. Turtle Top and their dedicated employees have built a history of integrity, quality and innovation and enjoy one of the best reputations in our industry today,” stated David Wright of Forest River. “We are honored that they have chosen Forest River to continue the tradition that they have dedicated themselves to building for more than 50 years.”
Details of the transaction were not announced.
Read MoreKPS Capital Acquires DexKo Global
KPS Capital, a New York-based private equity group, announced that it has acquired DexKo Global and its affiliates. DexKo Global is a global supplier of highly engineered running gear, chassis assemblies, and related components to recreational vehicle, utility trailer, manufactured housing and specialty trailer markets.
DexKo Global was formed at the end of 2015 through a merger of Dexter and AL-KO Vehicle Technology. The company is headquartered in Novi, Michigan, and has over 4,500 employees at 39 manufacturing facilities and 25 distribution centers around the world. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Read MoreJackim Woods & Co Releases White Paper “How to Value an RV Dealer”
Mergers and acquisitions firm, Jackim Woods & Co released its third white paper covering the recreational vehicle sector. This white paper, entitled How to Value an RV Dealer, looks at the factors that create value in an RV dealership and explores one of the methods that buyers use to determine the value of an RV dealer using the actual financial results of an actual client (albeit with the name changed to protect confidentiality).
If you own an RV manufacturer, dealer or supplier and would like to explore your options, feel free to contact Rich Jackim for a free, confidential consultation at 224-513-5142 or at rjackim@jackimwoods.com.
Read MoreLCI Industries acquired RV Seating Maker Lexington, LLC
LCI Industries (often referred to as Lippert Components) acquired Lexington, LLC, a manufacturer of high quality seating solutions for the recreational vehicle, marine, transportation, medical and office furniture industries. Lexington’s revenues for the twelve months ending December 2017 are anticipated to be approximately $60 million. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Read MoreJackim Woods & Co Publishes RV Manufacturing M&A Overview
Jackim Woods & Company published its RV Manufacturing M&A Overview-2017. The RV Manufacturing M&A Overview provides a look at the forces that are driving M&A activity in the recreational vehicle industry and some of the publicly announced transactions that have been completed in the sector in the last 18 months. Rich Jackim, Managing Partner at Jackim Woods & Company points out that “since most RV related companies are privately owned, many transactions go unannounced. In this white paper we’ve summarized the publicly announced transactions and whatever transaction specific information we could find.”
If you own an RV manufacturer, dealer or supplier and would like to explore your options, feel free to contact Rich Jackim for a free, confidential consultation at 224-513-5142 or at rjackim@jackimwoods.com.
Read MoreConsolidation Accelerates in the Window and Door Industry
Manufacturers of window and door products are seeing an active mergers and acquisitions market as the pace of consolidation continues. Private equity groups are competing against strategic industry buyers to close deals and build market share.
Several large window and door manufacturers have been acquired over the last 18 months. PGT acquired WinDoor in February 2016 for an estimated ’s $102 million acquisition. The deal is expected to strengthen PGT’s position in the impact-resistant window and door market in Florida. WinDoor has grown 20 to 25 percent over the past two years. PGT followed in October 2016 with the acquisition of US Impact Systems for an estimated $2 million, to gain a foothold in the commercial market.
In August 2016, Headwaters acquired Krestmark Industries for approximately $240 million, according to some estimates. This strategic acquisition provides Krestmark an entry to the Texas residential market and will extend Headwaters’ residential exterior building products portfolio.
In November 2016, Boral Industries, an Australian window and door manufacturer, acquired Headwaters to increase its share of the U.S. building and construction markets. The acquisition will double the size of Boral’s U.S. business.
Window and door manufacturer, Jeld-Wen has been highly acquisitive, closing two acquisitions in 2016 and six since 2015 to aggressively grow its door and window product portfolio. Acquisitions include Trend Windows and Doors, Dooria, LaCantina Doors, Karona, and Aneeta Window Systems. Jeld-Wen raised $575 million in an IPO in January 2017, pricing 25 million shares at $23 per share—the high end of the offering range. As a result, the company has lots of capital to continue its aggressive acquisition strategy. Jeld-Wen has been backed by private equity group, Onex Partners since 2011.
Window and door giants, Marvin, Pella and Masonite have also been active industry buyers, each announcing acquisitions in 2016. Marvin acquired Denver-based TruStile Doors LLC in May. This came after Pella Corp acquired Grabill Inc., a manufacturer of custom luxury windows and doors. Masonite also made several acquisitions, including its purchase of Performance Doorset Solutions, a manufacturer of custom doors and millwork in the United Kingdom, and USA Wood Door, a wholesaler and fabricator of architectural and commercial wood doors in the United States.
The window and door industry has seen an increase in private equity interest as the building market recovers. A number of new platform and add-on acquisitions have been announced in 2016 including Ridgemont Equity Partners’ acquisition of Delta Door and Hardware, Paradigm Windows Solutions acquisition by CapitalWorks, the Cascade Windows acquisition by Center Oak Partners, the acquisition of Quantum Windows & Doors by Capital Partners, Inc., and the acquisition of Western Window Systems by Capitala Group. Private equity groups have raised over $150 billion in capital that they need to invest over the next 3 years which is expected to continue to drive activity.
The pace of acquisitions suggests that 2017 and 2018 will be a seller’s market for window and door manufacturers, fueled by surplus investment capital, debt capital and low-interest rates. In addition, limited organic growth opportunities are continuing to drive strategic acquisitions, as buyers look to broaden product portfolios, increase market share and diversify into growing markets.
For additional information about acquisition opportunities in the residential or commercial window and door sector please contact Rich Jackim at (224) 513-5142 or at rjackim@jackimwoods.com.
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Jackim Woods & Co Releases RV Dealer M&A Overview-2016-2017
Jackim Woods & Company, released the 2016-2017 RV Dealer M&A Overview. This represents the first in a series of white papers the firm plans to publish on different aspects of the recreational vehicle industry. According to Rich Jackim, the Managing Partner at Jackim Woods & Co., “The recreational vehicle industry is experiencing a tremendous resurgence after the 2008-2009 recession. Record sales and profitability over the last few years have attracted the attention of well capitalized strategic and financial buyers who are interested in RV dealers of all types and sizes.”
Read MorePrivate Equity Firms Continue to Consolidate RV Industy
Over the past 20 years or so, some of the biggest names in the RV industry – Heartland, the REV Group, Fleetwood, Monaco, Dometic, Roadtrek, Grand Design, Lazydays RV Center and Camping World, to name a few – have been acquired by private equity groups (PEGs) like Bain Capital, Alliance Holdings, American Industrial Partners, Catterton Partners, Kidd & Co., and Main Street Capital.
For the most part, these PE firms operate quietly and without a lot of press, but they can have had a profound impact upon an industry, buying a mid-size RV company as a “platform investment” and then growing that company organically and through a series of smaller add-on acquisitions. The PEG’s goal is to triple or quadruple the size of the platform investment over the next 5-6 years. This buy and build strategy often converts their portfolio companies into industry leaders and creates or saves thousands of jobs in the process.
Determining the magnitude of private equity investment in the RV industry is challenging because private equity deals are private and the terms are typically not reported. Also, unlike publicly traded companies, private equity groups are not required to share their financial statements. In fact, in many cases, PE groups prefer to operate behind the scenes and not to promote their ownership of RV companies.
Nonetheless, Jackim Woods & Co., a mergers and acquisitions firm that specializes in the RV sector, has developed a proprietary database of strategic buyers and private equity groups interested in the RV sector and has tracked more than 65 transactions involving private equity firms over the last 20 years.
It is interesting to note that private equity interest spans the breadth of the RV sector and includes RV manufacturers, RV suppliers, RV distributors and RV dealerships.
While private equity firms have been involved in the RV market for more than two decades, interest in the RV industry has picked up since 2012.
“I believe that the RV industry continues to be very fertile ground for private equity investment,” says Rich Jackim, founder and managing partner at Jackim Woods & Co.
Jackim, an investment banker who focuses on the RV industry and has worked as a mergers and acquisitions consultant since 1993, says the current market is “probably one of the strongest seller’s markets we’ve seen in the last 15 years. Private equity groups have around $250 billion in dry powder that they need to invest, so the larger your RV company, the more interest you’ll get from private equity firms.”
According to Jackim, private equity firms “have a lot of money in their pockets right now but relatively few good quality opportunities to look at so we are very fortunate to be able to present our clients with multiple offers from buyers.”
If you are interested in understanding what your RV business might be worth or exploring your options, please contact Rich Jackim at (224) 513-5142 or at rjackim@jackimwoods.com.
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