Incline Equity Partners (“Incline”), a Pittsburgh-based lower middle-market private equity firm, announces the acquisition of Midwest Industrial Rubber, Inc. (“MIR” or the “Company”), a leading value-added supplier of lightweight conveyor belting and related components. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 1980 and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, MIR specializes in custom design, engineering and fabrication for mission critical belting applications. MIR’s highly differentiated service offering is recognized for its best-in-class quality and superior technical capabilities. The Company has built the industry’s largest domestic network of sales and fabrication facilities, providing market-leading, 24/7 service to customers.
“MIR is a leading provider of conveyor belting with strong design and engineering abilities and an impressive track record of growth,” said Jack Glover, Partner with Incline. “The Company has an expansive service offering across a variety of very stable end markets. We know the conveyor industry well, and we quickly saw the value in MIR’s market position.”
“We were looking for a partner that understood our business and our industry,” said Mike Bruhn, Chief Executive Officer of MIR. “We are well-positioned for multiple avenues of growth. Incline has a history of helping companies like ours prioritize and plan growth initiatives. That experience should allow us to grow faster and expand our national footprint.”
John Morley, Vice President with Incline, added, “We are excited to support the MIR management team in further developing existing locations, opening new locations and leveraging its highly fragmented market to pursue strategic acquisitions.”
This acquisition marks Incline’s tenth transaction in 2016. In addition to adding MIR to the portfolio, Incline closed on new platform companies Premium Franchise Brands and Ned Stevens and has completed several add-on acquisitions: Double E Company acquired Appleton Mfg.; AFC Holdings acquired Eckart and Finard; and Dorner Mfg. acquired Geppert. Incline also completed recapitalizations of Oracle Elevator, BCI Burke LLC, and Bacharach and completed its first exit in the third fund with the successful sale of AmSpec.
About Incline Equity Partners:
Incline Equity Partners, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a private equity firm focused on making investments in lower middle-market growth companies, focusing on companies with enterprise values of $30MM to $150MM across a variety of industry sectors including value-added distribution, specialized light manufacturing and business services. Typical investment types are management buyouts, ownership transitions for privately held businesses and corporate divestitures. Incline Equity Partners has experience with investing, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged finance, leveraged buyouts and growth capital.
Disclaimer:
Incline Management Corporation (“IMC”) is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. IMC provides investment advisory services only to privately offered funds. IMC does not solicit or make its services available to the public or other advisory clients. This press release is intended solely to provide information regarding Incline’s potential capabilities for prospective portfolio companies, and is not an offer to sell to any person, or a solicitation from any person of an offer to buy, any securities. The statements contained herein are not statements of any IMC client fund or investor and do not describe any experience with or endorsement of IMC as an investment adviser by any such client or investor.