Vance Street Capital has acquired Keltec Technolab, a provider of aftermarket filtration components. The buy of the company is Vance Street’s seventh platform investment out of its third fund, Vance Street Capital III LP.
Keltec designs and manufactures more than 12,000 SKUs of filtration products including air/oil separators, air filters, oil filters, exhaust mufflers, coalescing filters and refrigerated air dryers that are used in a variety of sectors including general industrial, pharmaceutical, and aerospace. According to the company, Keltec is the largest manufacturer of air/oil separators in North America.
Keltec is headquartered 25 miles southeast of Cleveland in Twinsburg, Ohio. The company was founded in 1982 by Edward Kaiser Sr. (he passed away in 2021) and today is led by his son and CEO, Ed Kaiser. As part of the transaction, the Kaiser family is retaining a significant ownership position in Keltec and will continue to lead the business going forward.
“I’m thrilled about this partnership as it empowers us to invest in growth, both organically and through M&A, thereby strengthening our market position as an aftermarket filtration parts provider. This opportunity also allows us to maintain a culture dedicated to surpassing the needs and expectations of our customers,” said Mr. Kaiser. “Vance Street’s track record of focusing on how to grow an organization, investing in the right people, process and product innovation, is a great fit for our organization.”
“Vance Street is always looking to partner with successful entrepreneurs like the Kaisers,” said Nic Janneck, a partner at Vance Street. “Over the last 40 years, the Kaisers and their team have built a highly differentiated company. With Vance Street’s additional support and capital, Keltec will be able to invest in the business, accelerate its new product development and continue to provide its customers with best-in-class service.”
Vance Street has experience investing in the filtration sector. In April 2013, through its first fund, the firm acquired Micronics, a Tennessee-headquartered provider of aftermarket and OEM filtration equipment and consumables used in mining, energy, food and beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical and biotech, and wastewater applications. Vance Street has closed seven add-on acquisitions for Micronics with the buys of Southern Filter Media (2014), C.P. Environmental (2015), United Process Control (2015), Aeropulse (2015), National Filter Media (2022), AFT (2023), and Solaft (2024).
In March 2022, in tandem with the National Filter Media add-on, Vance Street closed a continuation fund, VSC Extended Value 1 LP, to provide capital for the acquisition of Micronics and to provide for its future capital needs.
“We are excited to partner with the Kaiser family to support Keltec’s commitment to offering an extensive suite of high-quality products to its global customer base,” said Yousaf Tahir, a vice president at Vance Street. “Vance Street’s ability to leverage its experience in industrial technology as well as the consumable filtration ecosystem makes Keltec a great fit for us.”
“Keltec is a great opportunity for Vance Street to leverage its value-creation playbook,” said Mike Janish, a managing partner at Vance Street. “We are honored to be partnering with the Kaiser family during the company’s exciting next phase.”
Los Angeles-based Vance Street makes control investments in North American-based companies with enterprise values of $30 million to $350 million and EBITDA of $3 million to $30 million. Sectors of interest include medical technology, life sciences, industrial technology, and aerospace & defense.
In December 2021, Vance Street held a final closing of Vance Street Capital III LP with $432.5 million in commitments, exceeding its target of $375 million. The firm’s earlier fund closed in 2017 with $250 million in capital. Since its founding in 2007, Vance Street has raised $1 billion of committed capital.
Signet Capital Advisors was the financial advisor to Keltec with debt financing provided by Apogem Capital.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | April 2, 2024
