Press Release
02 August 2007
US$98 million acquisition of light industrial companies from Gartland Whalley & Barker plc
Nova, the specialist acquirer of private equity and corporate portfolios, is pleased to announce the US$98 million acquisition of light industrial companies, RollEase and Diacom, from Gartland Whalley & Barker plc ("GWB"), a privately held group.
This is Nova's second wholly U.S. based acquisition and represents the firm's thirteenth portfolio transaction. This brings the number of companies managed by Nova to 52.
RollEase is the dominant manufacturer of rollerblind operating mechanisms and other window covering components in the U.S. market, with rapidly expanding international operations. Diacom is a successful niche manufacturer of fabric reinforced rubber diaphragms and seals for a wide range of industrial uses.
Dennis Powers, portfolio director, who leads Nova's U.S. activity said: "We are pleased to have completed this US corporate transaction. Both portfolio companies are performing strongly in their markets and we believe they have the opportunity to grow significantly over the next few years. We look forward to working with both management teams to support their desire to take these businesses on to the next stage of growth."
Tom Leader, investment director, who led the transaction for Nova commented: "Nova enables corporate owners to divest of multiple assets in a single transaction. This not only provides vendors with considerable time and transactional cost benefits, but the ability to re-allocate capital and management resources as required. We continue to seek opportunities to deliver similar transactions in the US, Europe and the UK."
Dennis Powers (US) and Tom Leader (UK) will join the boards of both businesses.