Smart Business Magazine, November 2019

26 Smart Business Cleveland November 2019 M A continues to be strong BY MATT ROBERTS I t seems that every day someone in the news is looking for signs of a coming recession whether that is an inverted yield curve slowing RV sales or the ongoing U S China trade dispute Despite all the talk M A activity remains strong both nationally and in Northeast Ohio We continue to see owners exploring potential sales now to take advantage of the high valuation market dynamics as well as buyers looking to diversify or strengthen their business through acquisition That said companies that are thought to be recession proof or recession resistant are getting more attention from private equity firms while cyclical companies are being valued with a recession in mind CBIZ Inc closed two deals acquiring Brinig Taylor Zimmer out of San Diego and Westlake based QBA Benefits at the beginning of the month bringing the total number of deals closed this year for the accounting and consulting firm to five The Riverside Co acquired two platforms marketing technology company Affinitiv and Bike24 a German online platform for cycle products It also did an add on snagging Blue Moon Estates a Raleigh North Carolina based provider of private in home care services for its Best Life Brand platform Additionally Riverside exited two companies RE Panels S A and Health Safety Institute Solon based HDT Global acquired Berg Cos expanding its offering in mobile enclosures power management and water and fuel containment systems Akron based Main Street Gourmet was recapitalized by Chicago based Shore Capital Partners with the goal of driving organic growth as well as the acquisition of other differentiated bakeries Finally HomeServe USA acquired Freds Home Services and has quietly been acquiring HVAC and plumbing companies throughout the region SELECTED NORTHEAST OHIO MERGERS ACQUISITIONS Closed Target Issuer Name Buyer Investor Name Seller Name DEALMAKERS INSIDER Local companies in bold Source Pitchbook Sep 30 Cicoil TPC Wire Cable Audax Group Sep 26 OEConnection Genstar Capital Sep 25 Axuall Drummond Road Capital JumpStart North Coast Angel Fund and other investors Sep 24 RhinoSystems Inc Undisclosed investors Sep 23 W W Schaub Electric Co Abbott Electric Sep 23 Cambrian Solutions Maroon Group CI Capital Partners Sep 20 Vinyl Tech Tangent Technologies The Sterling Group Sep 20 Bike24 The Riverside Co Wiggle Sep 20 Orrville Printing Co Crossbridge Marketing Sep 19 Main Street Gourmet Shore Capital Partners Sep 19 Blue Moon Estates The Riverside Co Sep 19 Freds Home Services HomeServe USA HomeServe Sep 18 Berg Cos HDT Global Charlesbank Capital Partners Sep 17 Southwest Elevator Co Align Capital Partners Kone Sep 17 Arizona Shower Doors DreamLine MPE Partners Sep 16 Exotic Metals Forming Co Parker Hannifin Sep 13 Affinitiv The Riverside Co Sep 13 Frontier Adjusters Davies Group Merry Meeting Group Sep 11 Winchester Western Railroad OmniTRAX Inc Covia Sep 10 RE Panels S A THI Investments The Riverside Co Sep 10 The Hilsinger Co Undisclosed investors Blue Point Capital Partners Sep 9 Prime Woodcraft Northwest Pallet Holdings Huron Capital Sep 9 The Upbeat K9 The Dog Wizard Sep 9 TPA Stream JumpStart North Coast Angel Fund and other investors Sep 5 Icon MC Group Sep 4 QBA Benefits CBIZ Inc Sep 3 Health Safety Institute Waud Capital Partners The Riverside Co Sep 3 B F Capital Markets Stifel Financial Sep 3 Online School Management Systems Edlio Bratenahl Capital Partners L Squared Capital Partners LLR Partners Sep 1 Brinig Taylor Zimmer CBIZ Inc For more information about the Association for Corporate Growth visit www acg org cleveland Matt Roberts is a vice president with and runs the Cleveland office for Copper Run Capital LLC Copper Run Capital is a middle market investment banking advisory firm For more information on Copper Run please visit www copperruncap com or email mroberts@ copperruncap com Parker Hannifin completed the acquisition of Exotic Metals Forming Co for 1725 billion in cash Exotic is a manufacturer of innovative and technically demanding high temperature highpressure air and exhaust management solutions for aircraft and engines Exotic will operate as a stand alone division within Parkers Aerospace Group specializing in some of the most complex and demanding aircraft applications Exotics unique products and proprietary manufacturing capabilities will complement Parker Aerospace products and solutions which is expected to result in a stronger value proposition for customers Parker is actively working to integrate Exotic and realize synergies between the two organizations Its been a busy year for Parkers M A team which announced the 3635 billion acquisition of Lord Corp back in April DEAL OF THE MONTH