Frontenac Completes Sale of Motion & Control Enterprises

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Frontenac, a Chicago-based private equity firm, today announced the sale of Motion & Control Enterprises (“MCE”), a value-added distributor of flow control, fluid power, automation, and hydraulic repair products and services, to Bertram Capital. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The enterprise sale marks the conclusion of Frontenac’s 2018 investment in MCE. During the partnership, MCE completed and integrated 27 acquisitions, significantly expanding the depth and breadth of its products, services, and geographic reach. The company also expanded its senior leadership team, enhanced its strategic sales capabilities, and streamlined operations including capturing acquisition-related synergies.

“We are extremely proud of the success and accomplishments during our partnership,” said Ron Kuehl, Managing Partner at Frontenac. “Working closely with CEO1ST® Partner, Charley Hale, we executed a focused value creation plan that strengthened MCE’s foundation, expanded its distribution capabilities, and strengthened the company’s foundation. We are grateful to Charley and the entire MCE team for their leadership, commitment, and hard work. We believe MCE is well positioned for continued growth and success, and we wish Charley and the team the best going forward.”

“Our CEO1ST® Partnership started with a thesis in technical industrial distribution assets,” said Charley Hale, Chief Executive Officer of MCE. “Together, we invested in MCE and, along the way, expanded its product offering and geographic reach, and broadened the customer and supplier base. Frontenac has been a highly engaged and collaborative partner in MCE’s growth. I am pleased with the progress we achieved and look forward to building on that momentum alongside Bertram.”

The investment in MCE builds upon Frontenac’s longstanding distribution franchise. In recent years, Frontenac has invested in 8 distribution deals, seeking to support differentiated distributors with opportunities to scale through organic growth, strategic M&A, and investments in talent and commercial capabilities. MCE’s growth during the partnership reflects that approach and reinforces Frontenac’s commitment to the sector.

Solomon Partners served as the exclusive financial advisor and Winston Taylor served as legal counsel to MCE.

ABOUT MOTION & CONTROL ENTERPRISES

Founded in 1951, MCE is a supplier of technical fluid power, automation, flow control, rotating equipment products, filtration, service, and repair solutions. The Company serves more than 33,000 OEM and end-user customers from 62 facilities in 18 states. For more information, please visit www.mceautomation.com.

ABOUT FRONTENAC

Frontenac is a Chicago-based private equity firm. The firm focuses on investing in lower middle market buyout transactions in the consumer, industrial, and services industries. Frontenac works in partnership with established operating leaders, through an executive-centric approach called CEO1ST®, which seeks to identify, acquire, and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and operational excellence. Over the last 55 years, Frontenac has built a franchise working with over 350 owners of mid-sized businesses as they address complex transition issues of liquidity, management enhancement, and growth planning. For more information, please visit www.frontenac.com.

ABOUT BERTRAM CAPITAL

Bertram Capital is a private equity firm targeting investments in lower middle-market companies. Since its inception in 2006, the firm has raised over $4.0 billion in capital commitments. In addition to providing strategic growth capital, Bertram Capital seeks to leverage proprietary processes and services, Bertram High-5℠ and Bertram Labs, to empower its portfolio companies to unlock their full potential.

Bertram High-5℠ is an operationally focused value-creation strategy that includes management augmentation, operational initiatives, complementary acquisitions, sales and marketing improvements, and technology integration. The cornerstone of this strategy is Bertram Labs, its in-house technology team, which drives growth through digital marketing, e-commerce, big data and analytics, application development, and platform optimization.

Bertram Capital V focuses on control investments in business services, consumer, and industrial sectors with EBITDA above $7.5 million. Bertram Ignite I focuses on both control and non-control investments in similar sectors, with a minimum EBITDA of $3 million.

For more information, visit www.bcap.com.