New York, NY (April 10, 2014) -- KPS Capital Partners, LP (“KPS”) announced today that, through a newly formed affiliate, it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire Electrical Components International, Inc. and its affiliates (“ECI” or the “Company”). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
ECI is the world’s leading manufacturer of wire harnesses and value-added assembly services for consumer appliance and specialty-industrial applications. ECI has successfully served its global, blue-chip customer base of market-leading appliance and specialty-industrial original equipment manufacturers for over 60 years. The Company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri and employs over 12,000 people worldwide, with 12 manufacturing facilities located in Canada, China, Mexico, Morocco, Poland and Spain in addition to 14 distribution centers and sales and engineering offices.
Raquel Palmer, a Partner of KPS, said, “We are very excited to acquire Electrical Components International. ECI is a critical supplier to the leading companies in the consumer appliance, commercial appliance, HVAC, specialty transportation, construction and agriculture, auto and commercial electronics industries and is a market share leader in North America and Europe, with a growing presence in Asia and South America. The Company has an industry-leading reputation for quality, service and product development, with a strategic global manufacturing footprint. We intend to aggressively grow the ECI platform both organically and through acquisitions by continuing to support ECI’s strength in North America and Europe and providing additional capital to pursue growth initiatives in key emerging markets such as South America and Asia.”
David Webster, Chief Executive Officer of ECI, said, “The entire ECI team is excited to partner with KPS with which we share an identical culture and formula for business success. We are both committed to achieving total customer satisfaction, pursuing manufacturing excellence and driving continuous improvement. Over the last five years, our success formula has allowed us to double our customer base and extend both our geographic reach and markets served. Our ability to drive both organic and inorganic growth will be greatly enhanced by KPS’ ownership. We look forward to continuing to be the wire harness and value-added assembly services provider of choice while delivering industry-leading quality, service and innovation to our global customer base.”
Completion of the transaction is expected during the second quarter of 2014 and is subject to customary closing conditions.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to KPS and its affiliates. Financing for the transaction will be provided by a syndicate of banks and institutional investors with BofA Merrill Lynch, GE Capital Markets, Inc. and Fifth Third Bank acting as Lead Arrangers.
About Electrical Components International, Inc.
ECI was founded in the 1950s and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri with 12 manufacturing facilities, 14 distribution centers and sales and engineering offices located in North America, South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. ECI is the leading global manufacturer and marketer of wire harnesses and provider of value-added assembly services for the home appliance industry and is a leading provider of wire harnesses to a diverse range of end markets. ECI has over 800 customers globally and its products can be found in a wide variety of electronic and electro-mechanical applications, including home appliances, agriculture and construction, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), specialty transportation, automotive, commercial appliance, and commercial electronics. ECI has over 12,000 employees worldwide.
About KPS Capital Partners
KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $21.4 billion of assets under management (as of December 31, 2023). For over three decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds’ portfolio companies generate aggregate annual revenues of approximately $20.3 billion, operate 222 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, and have approximately 48,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide (as of December 31, 2023). The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.
