News

Snow Phipps Group LLC has acquired BlackHawk Industrial Distribution Inc from Brazos Private Equity Partners LLC. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, BlackHawk is an industrial distributor of cutting tools, abrasives and MRO products.

PRESS RELEASE

Dallas, Texas, September 17, 2018 — Brazos Private Equity Partners, LLC, a Dallas-based private equity firm, today announced the sale of BlackHawk Industrial Distribution, Inc. (“BlackHawk” or the “Company”), the leading independent value-added industrial distributor of cutting tools, abrasives, and MRO products, to Snow Phipps Group, LLC. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, BlackHawk was founded by Brazos Partners in 2010 in conjunction with Bill Scheller, former CEO and President of ORS Nasco, Inc., and has grown through 14 strategic acquisitions to one of the top 30 North American industrial distributors.

The Company has a national footprint that includes locations across North America and offers a portfolio of over one million SKUs, as well as supply chain and value-added manufacturing services. BlackHawk offers a comprehensive portfolio of products used in mission-critical, consumable applications and provides a consultative, partnership approach with deep technical product expertise to drive value for customers.

“We could not be more pleased with the success of BlackHawk,” said Randall Fojtasek, current Managing Partner of CenterOak Partners and former Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Brazos. “We have a long track record of investing in specialty distribution businesses across numerous end markets and this transaction represents the successful execution of our investment thesis in the industrial distribution space. While completing five platform and 15 add-on investments for CenterOak, our team has also worked tirelessly to build BlackHawk and maximize value for our partners. We are thrilled with the outcome for our investors and for the management team, and we wish them continued success.”

Bill Scheller, former BlackHawk CEO and current CenterOak Operating Partner, added, “It has been an incredible run with the team and I have truly enjoyed the partnership, leveraging their expertise in the space to generate value for shareholders. BlackHawk has built a leading market position over the last eight years, and we wish the current CEO John Mark and his team success as they focus on the continued growth of the business.”

“We have completed two successful investments and exits alongside Bill Scheller in the industrial distribution space and look forward to working with Bill on a third distribution opportunity at CenterOak Partners,” added Randall Fojtasek.

Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal advisor to Brazos Partners in connection with the sale.

About Brazos Private Equity Partners, LLC
Brazos Private Equity Partners is a Dallas-based private equity firm that has managed investment funds through three vehicles with approximately $1.4 billion of equity capital since inception.

About CenterOak Partners, LLC
CenterOak Partners LLC was founded by former partners of Brazos Private Equity Partners and closed its inaugural fund, CenterOak Equity Fund I, L.P. at its hard cap of $420 million in July 2016. CenterOak is focused on making control-oriented investments in middle market companies organized or operating in the United States. The Firm specializes in three key industry sectors: Industrial Growth, Consumer, and Business Services. Based in Dallas, Texas, the investment and portfolio management team has a strong historical track record creating significant value through operational improvement. CenterOak’s senior leaders have completed over 100 acquisitions representing more than $3.3 billion in transaction value across current and predecessor funds. For additional information, please visit www.centeroakpartners.com.

About BlackHawk Industrial Distribution, Inc.
BlackHawk is the leading independent value-added industrial distributor of cutting tools, abrasives, and MRO products in the U.S. BlackHawk’s value-added manufacturing services such as custom tool fabrication, fluids services, pumps & services and tool reconditioning as well as supply chain solutions allows customers to achieve optimal performance at their facilities. BlackHawk is headquartered in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. For more information, please visit https://www.bhid.com/