We are pleased to announce the sale of Applied Process (“AP” or the “Company”) to Aalberts N.V. (“Aalberts”), a Dutch public company.
AP is a specialty heat treating company focused on austempering, an isothermal heat treatment which creates superior properties in ferrous metal parts: less distortion, higher strength, higher toughness, better wear resistance, lighter components and lower overall cost. Applied Process will retain its brand and management team as an entity within Aalberts Material Technology group.
This sale is the culmination of a successful partnership between High Street Capital and the Company’s management team which began in 2014. Together, we invested in maintaining AP’s unique technology leadership position, strengthened and broadened our customer relationships and profitably expanded the Company’s footprint with the greenfield launch of Applied Process Fort Smith.
Chip Keough, the founder of Applied Process, noted, “I didn’t expect to sell to a private equity firm in 2014. HSC’s strong offer and Midwest roots won them the business. Confident in the future course of the business, we retained a minority share. HSC brought techniques and strategies that made AP a better, more profitable company, and just short of five years later it was re-sold, to a strategic buyer for a handsome multiple. Our experience with HSC has been very positive and we look forward to doing future business with them.”
The sale of AP marks the third exit for High Street Capital IV. We are actively seeking new investment opportunities for High Street Capital V, a $165 million fund raised in 2018, in the areas of outsourced business services, niche manufacturing and value-added distribution. Please contact us for businesses with revenues between $10 million and $100 million where the combination of our capital, experience and ideas could drive future growth.
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