CLEVELAND — Harris Williams & Co. has announced the sale of Transtar Holding Co. (Transtar Industries), a portfolio company of Linsalata Capital Partners, to Friedman Fleischer & Lowe (FFL). The transaction closed on Dec. 21. Harris Williams & Co. acted as the exclusive adviser to Transtar.
“We’ve really enjoyed the long-term relationship we’ve had with Linsalata and the Transtar team and are excited to have been able to contribute to the continued growth of the business, having sold Axiom Technologies to Transtar in 2008. Management and Linsalata have done a tremendous job building a premier platform in the automotive aftermarket and we are excited to have found a great partner in FFL that is excited to support management as they continue to execute their growth strategy,” said John Neuner, a managing director at Harris Williams & Co.
Joe Conner, who leads Harris Williams & Co’s Transportation & Logistics Group, said, “The Transtar transaction marks another important milestone in the continued growth and expansion of our efforts in the transportation sector. In particular, the automotive aftermarket remains a core focus area for the Group as the Transtar transaction marks our seventh completed sell side assignment in the sector in the last twelve months alone. The compelling combination of the long-term growth fundamentals and the need-based dynamics of the industry continue to attract investor interest, which should continue for the foreseeable future.”
Transtar, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is an integrated distributor of world-class driveline solutions, including complete transmission units, automatic and standard transmission rebuilder kits, hard and soft parts, electrical components, torque converters, transfer cases, and high-performance engine parts, and a growing supplier of autobody refinishing solutions to the automotive repair industry. The business was founded in 1975.
FFL is a San Francisco-based private equity firm with more than $2.5 billion under management that is focused on investing in U.S. middle market companies. Formed in 1998, FFL’s strategy is to invest in market-leading companies that generate high returns on invested capital and that have strong, defensible competitive positions, attractive growth prospects and outstanding management. Previous investments include: Tempur-Pedic International, Discovery Foods, Milestone AV Technologies, Korn/Ferry International and Guardian Home Care.
Harris Williams & Co., a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, is a leading middle market adviser, focused exclusively on the middle market providing sell side and acquisition advisory, restructuring advisery, board advisery, private placements, and capital markets advisory services. Harris Williams & Co.’s Transportation & Logistics Group serves companies in a broad range of attractive niches, including the automotive and heavy-duty truck aftermarket, third-party logistics (3PL), rail products and services, airport and aviation services, and specialized transportation service providers. In addition to Transtar, other recent clients include marquee aftermarket names such as Meineke, Slime, Yakima, IDQ, WARN, FleetPride and AAMCO Transmissions.
