Private equity firm Pfingsten Partners has acquired Motus3, a Kansas-based designer and manufacturer of food processing equipment.
Motus3 products are sold under the brand names Marlen and Carruthers, and are used for pumping, portioning, filling, dicing, grinding, slicing, reducing, chilling and cooking food.
Pfingsten plans to create a diversified food processing equipment platform through organic growth, strategic add-on acquisitions and geographic expansion. Going forward, the company will operate under the name Marlen International.
“Growing global demand for processed foods, a large installed base of equipment, and a meaningful replacement parts business made this an attractive opportunity for us,” says Thomas S. Bagley, senior managing director, Pfingsten Partners. “We hope to leverage the company’s strong brand image with Pfingsten’s global capabilities to build an international manufacturer of niche food equipment and replacement parts spanning a broad range of food applications.”
“Pfingsten’s conservative capital structure enabled us to get a deal done with certainty,” adds Motus3 president Adam Anderson. “The new partnership will allow us to embark on our next stage of growth by immediately accessing new customers, expanding our geographic reach both domestically and internationally, and continuing further investment in new product development.”
Pfingsten Partners acquired the business in partnership with management on 31 December 2009. It marks the second platform investment for Pfingsten Partners’ USD525m Fund IV. Terms were not disclosed.
