August 1, 2019
NEW YORK, NY—Astor Place Holdings (“Astor Place”), the private investment arm of Select Equity Group, L.P. (“SEG”), announced that it has acquired substantially all of the assets of Richards Industries, Inc. (“Richards”), a leading manufacturer of regulators, valves and other flow control products, through a newly-formed portfolio company of Astor Place. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Richards’ products are marketed under a series of distinct brands, each of which serve unique applications that require precise technical attributes. Richards serves a range of end markets including pharmaceutical, food & beverage, chemical, petrochemical and various industrial processing industries.
CEO Bruce Broxterman and the management team will remain in their current roles. “Astor Place is an ideal partner for us as we continue to execute on a range of organic and inorganic growth initiatives. The group’s long-term ownership mentality and deep sector knowledge will enable us to methodically build out additional capabilities,” said Mr. Broxterman.
Astor Place Senior Advisor Jim Graner will assume the role of non-executive Chairman of the Board. Mr. Graner brings over 40 years of experience in the flow control sector and was most recently the CFO of Graco, Inc. “Richards’ customer service-oriented culture, custom engineering and competitive manufacturing turnaround times differentiate the company in the marketplace,” said Mr. Graner. “The Astor Place team and I look forward to working with the management team to grow Richards as a leading flow control platform.”
Baker & McKenzie LLP acted as legal advisor to Astor Place Holdings. KPMG Corporate Finance LLC and Dinsmore & Shohl LLP served as financial and legal advisors, respectively, to Richards. Debt financing for the transaction was provided by BMO Sponsor Finance and PNC Erieview Capital.
About Richards
Richards is the parent company of six distinct industrial product lines: Regulators and control valves from Jordan Valve®; sanitary regulators and control valves from Steriflow Valve®; ball valves and automated products from Marwin Valve®; high pressure – extreme low flow regulators from LowFlow Valve®; instrument valves and manifolds from Hex Valve®; steam traps and steam specialty equipment from Bestobell Steam Traps®. www.richardsind.com
About Astor Place Holdings
Astor Place is the private investment arm of Select Equity Group, L.P. It seeks to deploy patient capital in partnership with exceptional management teams to drive long-term value creation in lower middle market North American companies. www.astorplaceholdings.com
About Select Equity Group, L.P.
SEG manages approximately $26 billion across long-only and long/short equity strategies that share a fundamental investment philosophy and centralized research effort. SEG is employee owned and was founded on the premise that rigorous, independent research and disciplined investing will generate superior returns. Its investment team of 53 professionals includes a 17-person field research division comprised of former journalists and sourcing specialists. SEG seeks to invest in the highest quality businesses—those with strong, predictable growth, high returns on invested capital and well-established barriers to competition. www.selectequity.com
Contact
Sim Ketchum
Astor Place Holdings
(347) 510-3386
sketchum@astorplaceholdings.com
