Century Park Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Los Angeles, announced today that it has partnered with the shareholders of The Ellison Company, Inc., in the spin-off of Ellison’s Specialty Manufacturing Co. division. Headquartered in Pineville, North Carolina, Specialty Manufacturing is a leading supplier of safety components, lighting systems and accessories to the school and transit bus markets. The new company has been incorporated as Specialty Manufacturing, Inc. and will continue to operate as it has done so successfully over its long history. Ellison’s Chairman, John Ellison, and its President, Gray Ellison, will continue on as both shareholders and managers of the business.
Century Park and Ellison envision that this transition will be transparent to its customer base, although both agree that the substantial financial resources that this partnership creates will be a strong asset to the Company’s customers.
“This partnership with Century Park is the next step in our company’s evolution. We have built a very successful business over the years, but as our industry consolidates and our customers demand broader products and services, our capabilities need to increase accordingly. By coupling our success in the market with Century Park’s proven experience helping businesses of our size grow and the strength that comes from being supported by a deep-pocketed equity sponsor, we become exceptionally well positioned to capture the tremendous opportunities that exist in our marketplace” said Gray Ellison, President of Specialty.
Commenting on the investment, Paul Wolf, one of the Managing Partners of Century Park, stated, “We are very excited about our new relationship with Gray and the management team at Specialty. This company has all of the fundamental characteristics that we look for in a business: a history of strong growth, outstanding management, a leadership position in the markets it serves, and a reputation for quality. We look forward to supporting Specialty as it looks to expand further both organically and through acquisition.”
Though terms of the transaction were not disclosed, it was announced that the senior debt financing was provided by Merrill Lynch Capital, GE Antares Capital and Madison Capital Funding. Carlyle Mezzanine Partners provided the mezzanine financing. The investment by Century Park was made from its latest fund, Century Park Capital Partners II, L.P. Edgeview Partners, a Charlotte-based investment bank focused on serving middle market companies, advised the Ellison Company.
For more information on Specialty Manufacturing, Inc., please visitwww.specmfg.com.
About Century Park Capital Partners: Century Park Capital Partners is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm that partners with owner/managers to build successful companies. The firm specializes in facilitating owner liquidity and business expansion by providing $10 million to $50 million equity investments for minority and majority recapitalizations, growth financings, management-led buyouts and acquisition financings. More information on Century Park Capital Partners can be found at www.centuryparkcapital.com.
