RLJ Equity Partners has acquired a significant ownership interest in LAI International, a manufacturer of precision engineered components for a variety of industries including power generation, aerospace and defence, and healthcare.
The announcement, in partnership with Spell Capital, comes five months after the close of RLJ Equity Partners Fund I with USD230m of committed capital in June 2009.
Further details of the transaction were not disclosed.
"RLJ views LAI as a perfect fit with its investment strategy to back strong, entrepreneurially-minded management teams of businesses that have sound, differentiated, value-added products or services where we can leverage our relationships to enhance the growth prospects," says Rufus H. Rivers, managing director of RLJ Private Equity Partners. "We look forward to working with LAI’s management team and Spell Capital to deliver more growth opportunities to the company, which is firmly positioned to benefit from the overall economic improvement as its end markets realise a general recovery.”
Spell Capital, a Minneapolis based lower middle market private equity firm, acquired LAI in 2005 and currently owns a majority ownership interest in the company.
Senior managing director Dobson West says: "We are delighted to have RLJ as partners with us and the management team. We believe their expertise, relationships and financial resources are just what LAI needs to sustain and accelerate its rate of growth.”
"We are very excited about our partnership with RLJ Private Equity Partners. We see tremendous synergies in the relationships and experience that the RLJ team brings to our collaboration and expect that our future growth will be outstanding," adds Stewart Cramer, president of LAI International.
Founded in partnership with The Carlyle Group, RLJ Equity Partners specialises in middle-market leveraged buy-outs, leveraged recapitalisations, and growth equity investments. RLJ Equity Partners is a portfolio company of The RLJ Companies, founded by Robert L. Johnson, owner of the NBA Charlotte Bobcats.
