Grove Street Promotes Chris Quinn to Managing Partner
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.
Grove Street Advisors Announces $600M in New Commitments
Wellesley, MA – January 11, 2016 – Grove Street Advisors, a private equity fund investor with $5.3 billion in assets under management, announced today it recently closed three new investment programs totaling approximately $600 million. The commitments include follow-on vehicles for two existing clients and a new program for a public pension.
“We are pleased to launch these new programs as we continue to work closely with our clients to extend their reach and exposure to funds that are otherwise difficult for them to invest in directly, including both top tier brands as well as newer and spin-out teams,” said Frank Angella, a Managing Partner of Grove Street Advisors. “These new programs highlight the appeal of our customized separate account structure and demonstrate the success of our firm’s long-tenured management team, strategy and relationships with general partners.”
Each new program will be customized to the client’s specific objectives, but overall will target GSA’s focus segments of early stage venture capital, growth equity, smaller buyouts and operational turnaround funds.”
About Grove Street Advisors:
Grove Street Advisors was founded in 1998 as a private equity investment organization exclusively focused on building and managing customized separate accounts for institutional and large family office clients. The firm invests globally in all segments of private equity and is particularly focused on lower middle-market buyout, growth equity and venture capital. The majority of the Partners at Grove Street Advisors have worked together for 14 years and previously accumulated extensive operating experience across the full range of private equity, including positions at the portfolio company level, leading direct investments and building private equity organizations and investment strategies.
Grove Street Promotes Bruce Ou to Managing Partner
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.
KPS CAPITAL PARTNERS TO SELL WAUPACA FOUNDRY
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.
Wynnchurch Capital Sells Safety Technology Holdings, Inc.
Wynnchurch Capital (“Wynnchurch”), a leading middle-market private equity firm, announced the sale of Safety Technology Holdings, Inc. (“STH”) to Golden Gate Capital. The Company will continue to be led by the current executive management team. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan, STH, through its Humanetics, HITEC & SDI subsidiaries, has been the leader in the development of biofidelic Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs) and related sensor measurement systems since first introduced during the early 1950s. Today, Humanetics’ suite of ATDs, sensors, and calibration and software products incorporate the latest biomechanical human simulations for the development and certification of occupant safety protection technologies. Coupled with HITEC & SDI’s advanced engineering & instrumentation services, STH’s products cascade across a variety of end markets around the world, including automotive, aerospace, industrial and medical devices.
Terry Theodore, a Partner at Wynnchurch, stated: “STH through Humanetics is the leading innovator and a pioneer in the crash test instrumentation and simulation industry. Chris O’Connor and his team at Humanetics have done an exceptional job in building upon and enhancing this legacy. They have significantly improved the company and expanded it internationally while always remaining focused on providing value and best-in-class service to their customers. Ultimately these are products that save lives – Wynnchurch and management are very proud of this fact and the role we’ve played in this during our investment in Humanetics.”
Chris O’Brien, a Managing Director at Wynnchurch, added: “Under management’s leadership and through significant strategic investments in engineering and operational talent, capacity improvements and product development, STH has become a world-class global supplier in the test and measurement industry. We wish Chris and his team continued success with their new partners.”
Christopher J. O’Connor, President and CEO of STH and Humanetics, stated, “Wynnchurch was essential in driving corporate initiatives that allowed for improved quality, throughput and technology ultimately benefiting all our customers worldwide. Wynnchurch facilitated our ability to invest in advanced products, new production equipment, enhanced materials and expanding our resources to greatly improve the performance of our Company”. “We are very appreciative of their leadership and contributions and are looking forward to working with our new partners at Golden Gate to support the ‘next 60 years’ of continued product and regulatory growth for our customers worldwide.”
Harris Williams served as the financial advisor and Foley & Lardner served as the legal advisor to Wynnchurch.