High Road Capital Partners has completed the acquisition of New York-based General Tools & Instruments, marking High Road Capital Partners Fund II’s third platform acquisition.
Founded in 1922, General Tools & Instruments is a designer and developer of precision specialty hand tools and handheld test instruments for consumers and professionals.
General Tools & Instruments’ products are available in big-box and specialty retailers including Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sears, Ace Hardware and True Value Hardware stores, and through industrial distributors such as Grainger, MSC Industrial Supply and McMaster-Carr.
“General Tools & Instruments has a solid position as a leading provider of specialty hand tools and instruments across multiple industries, with a product portfolio of more than 1,500 SKUs,” says Jeff Goodrich, High Road partner. “Its strengths include an exceptional product development capability through which the company introduces new and innovative tools annually and provides professional-grade products to consumer markets.”
Joe Ennis, chief executive officer of General Tools & Instruments, says: “General remains focused on providing its customers with feature-rich, value-oriented specialty hand tools and test instruments. We look forward to working with High Road and continuing the company’s successful expansion.”
Ennis will continue to lead the company post-closing. He and the other members of General’s management team invested in the transaction alongside High Road.
US Bank provided senior debt financing for the transaction. Babson Capital Management provided subordinated debt and also invested equity alongside High Road. Cowen and Company advised the seller. Transaction consideration was not disclosed.
