February 16, 2018
February 16, 2018
Calvert Street Invests in Three New Platforms and Two Add-on Acquisitions in 2017
February 16, 2018 Calvert Street announced today that 2017 was an active year for the 23 year-old firm, marked by three new platform strategies and two add-on acquisitions.
Thermal Processing Strategy
In June 2017, Calvert Street, in partnership with John Hubbard (former CEO of Bodycote, PLC), completed the acquisition of Diamond Heat Treat (“Diamond”), a Rockford, IL-based heat-treating company. Shortly after the acquisition of Diamond, our team began working with the owners of Certified Heat Treating (“Certified”), a Springfield, OH-based thermal processing company, which closed on January 2, 2018. We are in active discussions with a number of complementary add-on targets.
Testing, Inspection & Certification (TIC) Strategies
Calvert Street has been an active investor in the testing & inspection space for several years, beginning with our build-up of Inspection Oilfield Services (“IOS”) from 2011 - 2015.
In August 2017, Calvert Street partnered with the founder of Technical Diagnostic Services (“TDS”), a Ft. Worth, TX-based provider of testing, calibration and commissioning services and equipment for electrical systems, instrumentation and controls for the utility, oil & gas, chemical processing and other industrial end markets. Similar to our investments in IOS and Premium, we intend to build a diversified market leader through a combination of organic and in-organic growth strategies.
In October 2017, Calvert Street’s nondestructive testing and inspection portfolio company, Premium Inspection and Testing (“Premium”), completed its forth add-on acquisition: Landbros Aerial, an unmanned aerial inspection company based in Baton Rouge, LA, adding additional high value services to Premium’s ever-growing list of advanced service capabilities.
Specialty Chemical Manufacturing Strategy
On November 10, 2017, Calvert Street made a minority investment in Hocking International Laboratories (“Hocking” or the “Company”) with the goal of supporting management’s strategy to build a leading specialty chemical manufacturer. Founded in 1973, Hocking is a diversified chemical manufacturer serving the agricultural, turf & ornamental, automotive, and commercial cleaning markets. The Company is headquartered in San Marcos, California, and has two additional manufacturing facilities in Pipestone, Minnesota, and Sylacauga, Alabama. The Company’s high-service, vertically integrated business model allows it to deliver adjuvants, liquid fertilizers, micronutrients nitrogen stabilizers, colorants, and biologicals.
In addition to these 2017 transactions, Calvert Street made several important management hires at existing portfolio companies, and began new thesis investment searches in the industrial and tech-enabled business services sectors.
Calvert Street Capital Partners is a Baltimore, Maryland-based private equity firm focused on the acquisition of industrial and tech-enabled service businesses in the lower middle-market. Since its inception in 1995, Calvert Street has partnered with skilled management teams of privately held businesses to drive profitable growth and organizational transformation. Calvert Street's managed funds have invested in over 75 acquisitions representing cumulative transaction values in excess of $1.2 billion.
