Jul 9, 2018 | In the News
Newton, MA – July 9, 2018 – Grove Street, a leading discretionary private equity and venture capital fund investor, is pleased to announce that Mario Miranda has been hired as a Vice President in the investing team where he will be working closely with the firm’s Managing Partners and Principal.
“We are excited to announce Mario as the new addition to our investing team,” said Catherine Crockett, Managing Partner and Founder of Grove Street. “The firm is celebrating its twentieth anniversary and we are as determined as ever to continue to invest in our talented multi-generational investing team for the firm’s success for years to come.”
Prior to joining Grove Street, Mario worked in Goldman Sachs’s Leveraged Finance team for four years and in Citigroup’s Financial Sponsors team for a year, focusing on structuring and executing financings primarily for middle-market leveraged buyouts. Mario is a graduate of the Huntsman Program at The University of Pennsylvania where he received a BA in International Studies from the College of Arts & Sciences and a BS in Economics from The Wharton School, both Summa Cum Laude. He also received an MBA from The Wharton School.
Dec 13, 2017 | In the News
Newton, MA – December 13, 2017 – Grove Street, a leading discretionary private equity and venture capital fund investor, is pleased to announce that Chris Quinn has been promoted to Managing Partner in recognition of his many achievements at the firm. Chris joins Frank Angella, Catherine Crockett, Barry Gonder, Bruce Ou and Christopher Yang as the firm’s leadership team. Chris joined Grove Street as the firm’s Chief Financial Officer in 2015. In his leadership role, Chris has been responsible for all aspects of client and firm operations including investment analysis, financial reporting and tax.
“We are excited to announce the promotion of Chris Quinn to Managing Partner of the firm,” said Catherine Crockett, Managing Partner and Founder of Grove Street. “Chris has been instrumental in leading the finance operations group to meet the evolving needs of our business and clients.”
Prior to joining Grove Street Advisors, Chris developed his strong finance, operations and tax skills while serving as the CFO of Regiment Capital. Chris was also a Tax Director at Bain Capital, Tax Manager at Highfields Capital and a Senior Tax Consultant at Deloitte. Chris is a Certified Public Accountant and has a BS in Business Administration (Accounting) from Bryant University and a MT (Taxation) from the University of Denver.
Jul 20, 2015 | In the News
Wellesley, MA – July 20, 2015 – Grove Street Advisors, a leading discretionary private equity fund investor, is pleased to announce that Bruce Ou has been promoted to Managing Partner in recognition of his many achievements at the firm. Bruce joins Frank Angella, Catherine Crockett, Barry Gonder and Christopher Yang as the firm’s leadership team.
Bruce has been a part of the investment team at Grove Street since 2007. During his tenure, Bruce has sourced and led investments across the firm’s venture, growth and private equity portfolios, and has worked closely with the firm’s clients.
“We are excited to announce Bruce’s promotion on the back of his many contributions to Grove Street and its clients,” said Frank Angella, Managing Partner of Grove Street Advisors. “The firm is experiencing great positive momentum and with Bruce we are continuing to build a multi-generational partnership for the long-term success of the firm.”
Prior to joining Grove Street Advisors, Bruce developed strong strategy consulting and corporate finance skills while working in Monitor Group’s M&A and Corporate Finance group for three years. Bruce has a BA in Economics and Asian Studies from Williams College and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, where he graduated as a Tuck Scholar with High Distinction.
Aug 19, 2014 | In the News
New York, NY (August 19, 2014) — KPS Capital Partners, LP (“KPS”) announced today that it signed a definitive agreement, through an affiliate, to sell its portfolio company Waupaca Foundry, Inc. (“Waupaca” or the “Company”) to Hitachi Metals, Ltd. (“Hitachi Metals”, TSE: 5486) for $1.3 billion in cash.
Waupaca is the largest iron foundry company in the world, producing gray and ductile iron castings using state-of-the-art technology. The Company is North America’s leading supplier of iron castings to the automotive, commercial vehicle, agriculture, construction and industrial markets.
David Shapiro, a Managing Partner of KPS, stated, “The success of our investment in Waupaca demonstrates KPS’ ability to see value where others do not, to buy right and to make businesses better. In 2012, we recognized the transformation of the North American iron foundry market and the unrivaled importance of Waupaca to its customers and the end markets that it serves. The sale of Waupaca to Hitachi Metals, a leading multinational corporation, is a great outcome for our investors, Waupaca, its management, employees and customers.
“KPS worked with management to improve every aspect of Waupaca’s business, resulting in profitability increasing by more than 40% in just over two years. The investment return generated for our investors in the Waupaca transaction is further validation of the KPS investment strategy, which we have successfully executed over many years and across numerous economic cycles. We are very proud to have had the opportunity to partner with Gary Gigante, his management team and all the dedicated employees of Waupaca. The material value created for our investors since 2012 is the result of their collective effort, for which we are very grateful. We are confident that Waupaca will continue to grow and prosper in the future as part of Hitachi Metals,” Mr. Shapiro concluded.
Gary Gigante, Chief Executive Officer of Waupaca, added, “KPS recognized the potential of our business two years ago. Working in partnership with KPS, we invested significantly in our operations and people, which included an expansion of our production capacity and launching numerous continuous improvement initiatives across all six of our foundries. We are very grateful to KPS for its leadership and its commitment to improving and growing our business. We are thrilled to join Hitachi Metals, which has the resources, foundry experience, access to capital and global reach that will enable Waupaca to achieve an even higher level of success.”
Completion of the transaction, which is expected during the fourth quarter, is subject to customary closing conditions.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as legal counsel and financial advisor, respectively, to KPS and Waupaca with respect to the transaction.
About Waupaca Foundry, Inc.
Waupaca Foundry, Inc., the largest iron foundry company in the world, produces ductile iron and gray iron castings using state-of-the-art technology. Waupaca is North America’s leading supplier of iron castings to the automotive, commercial vehicle, agriculture, construction, and industrial markets. Headquartered in Waupaca, Wisconsin, the iron metal caster operates six manufacturing facilities, located in Waupaca, Wisconsin (3 individual sites), Marinette, Wisconsin, Tell City, Indiana, and Etowah, Tennessee. Waupaca employs approximately 3,900 people. For more information, visit www.waupacafoundry.com.
About KPS Capital Partners, LP
KPS is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with over $6.1 billion of assets under management. KPS seeks to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in companies across a diverse range of manufacturing industries experiencing a period of transition or challenged by the need to effect immediate and significant change. KPS creates value for its investors by seeing value where others do not, buying right and making businesses better. The KPS investment strategy is based primarily upon partnering with world-class management teams to effect material and sustainable improvements in the operations of its businesses. Thereafter, KPS focuses on growing its businesses, both organically and through strategic acquisitions. KPS portfolio companies have aggregate annual revenues of approximately $8.1 billion, operate 109 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, and employ over 51,000 associates, directly and through joint ventures worldwide. The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.
