Ardian buys Dynamic Technologies

Following the acquisition, the GP aims to merge the business with its existing US portfolio company Huron, an automotive fluid-handling system manufacturer. DT's CEO, Walter Zonta, will become CEO of the merged group, which will be headquartered in the US, and Huron chair Robert Bales will become chair of the merged group.

Ardian launched its North America Direct Buyouts activity in October 2016, as it brought on board the team from Seven Mile Capital Partners.

According to unquote" sister company Mergermarket, Ardian will acquire the business through its North America Fund II, while existing investors Friulia Veneto Sviluppo, Venice Investimenti, MP Venture and Elektron Private Equity are understood to be fully exiting the business.

According to the report, the business was put up for sale in 2016 and reached advanced talks with an undisclosed bidder. Following the election of Donald Trump as US president, the company stepped away from negotiations because of the uncertainty prompted by the newly elected president, who seemed keen on introducing tariffs on foreign companies.

Previous funding
Formerly known as Raco, the business was originally acquired by AVM Italia via its AVM Private Equity 1 fund in July 2004. Subsequently, MP Venture acquired a minority stake in the business in July 2006.

In June 2008, an investors syndicate comprising MP Venture, Palladio Finanziaria, Friulia Veneto Sviluppo and Abacus Invest acquired the renamed company, Dynamic Technologies. The investment was designed to support the development of the company through the acquisition of Canadian firm Bend All Automotive. The shareholding structure saw MP Venture and Palladio – via MP Venture 2 and Venice Investimenti, respectively – control equal parts of a 51% stake, while Friulia and Abacus held 20% each. The remaining stake was in the hands of the management.

Company
Established in 1983 and known as Raco, DT specialises in the manufacturing of plumbing for cooling systems in the automotive sector. Headquartered in Attimis, Italy, the business has 11 production facilities, including three plants in Italy, one in Hungary, one in Poland, one in the UK, two plants in Canada, one in Mexico and two plants in China.

According to Mergermarket, the company generated €200m in revenues and €21m in EBITDA in 2015, while in 2016, turnover was understood to sit in the €130-140m bracket with EBITDA at €25m.

People
Ardian – Vincent Fandozzi (head of Ardian North America Direct Buyouts).
Dynamic Technologies Group – Walter Zonta (CEO).
Huron – Robert Bales (chair); Jerry Solar (CEO).

Advisers
Sellers – Lincoln International (corporate finance).

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