Black Bay Energy Capital Announces Acquisition of Advanced Industrial Devices from Rock Island Capital

TULSA, Okla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Black Bay Energy Capital (“Black Bay”), a private equity firm focused on the North American energy sector, announced that it has acquired a majority interest in Advanced Industrial Devices (“AID” or the “Company”) from Rock Island Capital (“Rock Island”). AID is a leading provider of electric motor automation and control solutions for oil and gas and industrial applications.

AID will continue to be headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma and led by Russell Claybrook, Chief Executive Officer. AID designs and sells custom variable frequency drive control systems (“VFD”) that are utilized across a diverse set of applications within the oil and gas and industrial sectors. The investment from Black Bay will help support AID’s customer demand and expand the Company’s manufacturing, engineering and service capabilities to capitalize on the growing market for electric motors and VFDs. AID’s VFD solutions enable end users to reduce operating costs, improve asset runtimes, enhance automation and control capabilities, and lower carbon footprints.

Russell Claybrook, CEO of AID, commented, “We are pleased to announce our strategic partnership with the Black Bay team for our next phase of growth. AID has evolved over the last ten years into a premier provider of VFD control packages and we pride ourselves on developing tailored solutions to address client needs. Electric motors and VFDs are utilized in countless industries across the world and we view this partnership with Black Bay as a key step in leveraging our collective experience to capitalize on new applications and industry sectors, while also delivering unmatched quality and service to our existing customers. We look forward to benefiting from Black Bay’s deep sector knowledge, industry relationships, and financial backing to support the next evolution of the Company. We would like to acknowledge and thank the Rock Island team for their involvement and support in helping us reach this point.”

Matt Schovee, Principal of Black Bay, commented, “Rising pressure from stakeholders is going to drive end users to shift further towards cleaner, electric driven equipment and we believe AID is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this trend. Russell and the entire AID team have built an impressive business and unique culture centered around customer service, collaboration, and professionalism and we are thrilled to be partnering with them.” Michael LeBourgeois, Managing Partner of Black Bay, added, “We are excited to partner with Russell and the entire AID team to support the Company’s continued growth. The trend of electrification within the oil and gas and various other industrial sectors is a key investment focus area for Black Bay.”

Brian Bastedo, Partner at Rock Island, said, “We had a wonderful relationship with AID over the last nine years and were excited about how the team was able to transform the business. Partnering with Black Bay will enable AID to reach its growth potential over the coming years. We appreciated Black Bay’s speed and professionalism in closing the transaction.”

Fishman Haygood acted as legal counsel to Black Bay. McDermott Will & Emery acted as legal counsel to AID and Rock Island. Chicago, IL based Old Second National Bank supported the transaction through upsized lending facilities.

About Advanced Industrial Devices

Founded in 1983, AID has evolved over its nearly 40 years in business from primarily an electric motor distributor to a leading provider of electric motor automation and control solutions across the United States. AID designs and sells custom variable frequency drive control systems that are utilized across a diverse set of applications within the oil and gas and industrial sectors. For more information, please visit www.aidusa.com.

About Black Bay Energy Capital

Black Bay is a private equity firm focused on the North American energy sector. Black Bay invests equity capital alongside talented entrepreneurs that provide a differentiated product or service to their clients to help reduce costs, improve operations, and achieve ESG initiatives. The firm’s investment strategy and success stem from the more than 75 years its investment professionals have been working day-to-day with great teams and building high-growth companies. www.blackbayenergy.com

About Rock Island Capital

Rock Island Capital provides equity and mezzanine capital to middle market companies nationwide. Rock Island makes majority and minority investments in leading middle-market manufacturing, distribution or service companies. Rock Island will invest capital for management buyouts of private companies or divisions of larger companies, generational changes of ownership, growth and expansion, or recapitalizations of family-owned or closely held businesses. www.rockislandcapital.com