Private investment firm Graham Partners Inc. has gobbled up specialty millwork maker HB&G Building Products Inc.
Terms were not disclosed in the deal, which closed March 10. Officials said Troy, Ala.-based HB&G is the first of many acquisitions Graham expects to make in the polymer-based building and construction market. Graham is based in Philadelphia.
Future acquisition targets may include players in porch flooring, decking, trim, brick molding, interior and exterior polyurethane products, or shutters.
``Our vision is to turn HB&G into a dominant player within the polymer and composite industry,'' said Rob Newbold, a managing partner with Graham.
The HB&G management team actually had a list of candidates, all within polymer-based and composite building products, and many of those firms already were on the Graham Partners list, Newbold said March 12 by telephone.
``From a timing standpoint, there's nothing imminent,'' Newbold said. ``There are no situations where there is a letter of intent.''
According to its news release, Graham looks for firms with annual sales of between $30 million and $500 million that participate in manufacturing niches where Graham can leverage its operating resources and financial expertise.
HB&G has two facilities: its original millwork location in Troy and a rotomolding operation in Brainerd, Minn., which HB&G acquired in 2000. The current management team is to stay intact, including President and Chief Executive Officer Ken Hendricks, who bought HB&G in 1977.
With 2002 sales of $70 million, HB&G has grown an average of 20 percent annually during the past five years. Newbold said there are no immediate plans to expand the plants or add capacity.
``HB&G is a great fit for us, given our focus on acquiring leading middle-market industrial companies that are experiencing significant growth as a result of raw material conversion trends in the industries they serve,'' Newbold said.
HB&G previously was a portfolio company under Greenwich, Conn.-based Ardshiel Inc. Graham Partners also has an ownership stake in Graham Packaging Co. of York, Pa. Graham Partners manages a private equity fund with more than $227 million in invested capital, officials said.
