M&A Deal Summary

Audax Private Equity Acquires FDH Aero

On April 4, 2017, private equity firm Audax Private Equity acquired aerospace company FDH Aero from Housatonic Partners and Tucker Partners

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Audax Private Equity’s 1st transaction in the Aerospace sector.
  • This is Audax Private Equity’s 97th transaction in the United States.
  • This is Audax Private Equity’s 7th transaction in California.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2017-04-04
Target FDH Aero
Sector Aerospace
Buyer(s) Audax Private Equity
Sellers(s) Housatonic Partners
Tucker Partners
Deal Type Secondary Buyout
Advisor(s) Harris Williams & Co. (Financial)
Foley & Lardner LLP (Legal)

Target

FDH Aero

Commerce, California, United States
FDH Aero is a distributor of c-class hardware and replacement parts to commercial and defense aircraft manufacturers, subcontractors, component distributors, and MRO/aftermarket solution providers. FDH Aero is headquartered in Commerce, California, and has operations across North America, Europe, and Asia.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Audax Private Equity

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1999
PE ASSETS 19.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Audax Private Equity is a private equity firm focused on acquiring control positions in a variety of mid to large North American headquartered companies. The Firm segments its activities into lower middle-market and larger scale investing. Within its larger group, Audax targets profitable businesses valued up to $800 million and within its lower middle-market group, the Firm seeks companies valued up to $125 million. Sectors of interest include business services, consumer products/services, financial services, healthcare services, industrial services, software, and technology. Audax has a special interest in businesses that can benefit from a buy and build investment strategy for growth. Audax Private Equity was formed in 1999 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 100 of 167
Sector (Aerospace) 1 of 1
Type (Secondary Buyout) 42 of 72
State (California) 7 of 14
Country (United States) 97 of 158
Year (2017) 2 of 10
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-03-10 Cozzini Bros

Des Plaines, Illinois, United States

Cozzini Bros is a full-service provider of sharpening and other blade exchange programs for restaurants, grocery stores, commercial kitchens, cafeterias, hospitals and schools. While maintaining the heritage, values and customer focus, company have been encouraged by customers to invest in customized blade sharpening programs for a variety of equipment, and in developing sophisticated invoicing capabilities. Cozzini Bros was formed in 2003 and is based in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-04-19 AI Fire

Long Beach, California, United States

AI Fire is a provider of fire and life safety services, including inspection, service, customized work orders, and installation for fire alarms, sprinklers, fire extinguishers, and other fire suppression systems. AI Fire was founded in 2009 and is based in Long Beach, California.

Buy -

Seller(S) 2

SELLER

Housatonic Partners

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1994
PE ASSETS 1.5B USD
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Housatonic Partners is a private equity firm focused on investing in growing, profitable companies with a preference for businesses generating recurring revenues. Target sectors include services, media, and communications. Housatonic looks to commit $10 to $30 million per transaction to support buyouts and recapitalizations. Prospective companies generally have high gross margins and moderate capital intensity. Housatonic was formed in 1994 and has offices in Boston, Massachusetts and San Francisco, California.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 34 of 44
Sector (Aerospace) 1 of 1
Type (Secondary Buyout) 9 of 13
State (California) 10 of 10
Country (United States) 34 of 42
Year (2017) 1 of 5
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-10-24 ZircoDATA

Bentleigh, Australia

ZircoDATA provides a comprehensive range of records storage, scanning, data capture and document management solutions. ZircoDATA was founded in 1995 and is based in Bentleigh, Australia.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-04-25 365 Data Centers

Norwalk, Connecticut, United States

365 Data Centers is a provider of hybrid data center solutions in 12 strategic, primarily edge, markets. With Data Centers in Boca Raton, Bridgewater (New Jersey), Buffalo, Chicago, Commack (Long Island), Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Indianapolis, Nashville, Philadelphia, New York City, and Tampa, the Company operates facilities aggregating 230,000 square feet and 22 MW of power, along with an interconnected, resilient, low latency, nationwide fiber network. 365 Data Centers was founded in 2002 and is based in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Sell -
SELLER

Tucker Partners

Corona Del Mar, California, United States

Category Private Equity Firm
Size Small
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Tucker Partners is a private investment firm focused on acquisitions of growth-oriented middle-market businesses. Tucker Partners looks for companies with revenues between $25 and $500 million, and prefers companies located in California or other western states. The Firm has a special interest in distributors that supply products and services to manufacturing or processing companies. These businesses may provide value added services such as: importing/exporting, assembly, packaging and light manufacturing. Additional sectors of interest include industrial supplies and equipment, aerospace, defense, electrical products, healthcare, food and beverage, consumer products, and business services. Tucker Partners is based in Corona Del Mar, California.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 1
Sector (Aerospace) 1 of 1
Type (Secondary Buyout) 1 of 1
State (California) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 1 of 1
Year (2017) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2007-11-06 Aircraft Fasteners International

Monterey Park, California, United States

Aircraft Fasteners International LLC is a distributor specializing in self-locking nuts, threaded inserts, and related high performance hardware for the aerospace, electronics and defense industries. Aircraft Fasteners International was founded in 1964 and is based in Monterey Park, California.

Buy $14M