Good morning Hubsters. Michael Schoeck here with the US Wire from the New York newsroom, filling in for Obey Martin Manayiti, who’s off for a few days.
We’ve got a two-for-one special for this Tuesday Wire: an exclusive deal announcement from Rafael Canton involving IT managed service providers; and my outlook feature on the industrials and manufacturing M&A market.
And in deal news, we have a sweet deal involving an Oregon pie producer.
Combining multi-vertical MSPs
Today FFL Partners announced the merger of portfolio companies the Abacus Group and Medicus IT, PE Hub was the first to report. The merged business will launch as a multi-vertical IT managed services provider (MSP) focused on the financial services and healthcare sectors.
PE Hub spoke with FFL partner Jonathon Bunt in an exclusive interview to learn more about the merger and why MSPs are attractive to private equity.
Sign up for the premium version of the Wire to access more details on deal drivers in the MSP market.
Strategic appeal
Strategic buyers seem more willing to make deals in the industrials and manufacturing sector these days, while private equity firms seem more cautious about proceeding in the midst of uncertainty around tariffs, according to investment bankers PE Hub interviewed.
PE Hub’s coverage of several deals in the sector found strategic buyers paying high multiples to win the bids. To find out more about the dynamics, we spoke with Scott Alford, managing director at Houlihan Lokey; Andrew Petryk, managing director and head of industrials at Brown Gibbons Lang & Company; and Bobby Reifman, managing director and co-head of industrials at Lincoln International.
Upgrade to the premium version of the Wire to read up on what EBITDA multiples strategics are paying for industrials holdings as PE firms sit largely on the sidelines.
Easy as pie
Snack products and baked goods are a perennial topic of interest that has attracted the sweet tooth of PE firms.
Dessert Holdings, a St. Paul, Minnesota-backed baked goods company backed by Bain Capital, has acquired Williamette Valley Pie Company, a Silverton, Oregon-based maker of pie and dessert products.
Sign up for the premium version of the Wire for more add-on deals Dessert Holdings has done under Bain’s ownership.
That’s a wrap for me. Keep an eye out for the Europe edition of the Wire tomorrow from Craig McGlashan and the US edition from Rafael Canton.
Cheers,
Michael
Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...
