News

Bridgepoint has acquired Safety Technology Holdings from Golden Gate Capital. No financial terms were disclosed. Houlihan Lokey was financial adviser to Bridgepoint on the deal while Moelis & Company did likewise for Golden Gate Capital. Based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, STH is a maker of safety test equipment, specialty fiber, custom engineered stress and strain solutions and software modelling.

PRESS RELEASE

12 February 2018

Bridgepoint acquires Safety Technology Holdings from Golden Gate Capital

Bridgepoint, an international private equity firm, today announced that it has acquired Safety Technology Holdings (“STH”), the world’s leading supplier in the design and manufacture of safety test equipment, specialty fiber, custom engineered stress & strain solutions and software modelling, from Golden Gate Capital. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Christopher O’Connor, President and CEO, said: “We are proud of the strong foundation we built through our partnership with Golden Gate Capital and are delighted to welcome Bridgepoint as shareholders, who have a track record of building and providing long-term support to the businesses with whom they work. We are already a global business but will undoubtedly benefit from the Bridgepoint network, especially in Europe and China, to drive future growth and continue to deliver world leading safety solutions for our customers.”

Andrew Sweet, Partner at Bridgepoint commented: “STH is a pioneer in saving lives. Its technology is uniquely positioned to address the opportunities presented by disruptive developments such as driverless and electric cars and increased safety regulatory requirements. We look forward to working with the company to pursue its many avenues of growth.”

Rajeev Amara, Managing Director at Golden Gate Capital commented: “We have enjoyed an amazing partnership with Chris O’Connor. Under Chris’ leadership, the company has successfully executed on its growth strategy, which has resulted in the doubling of its size in just four years, by expanding into adjacent markets across a variety of product lines. We are confident the company has a bright future ahead.”

The investment in STH is made by Bridgepoint Europe V, a €4 billion middle market buyout fund. Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to Bridgepoint and Moelis & Company served as financial advisor to Golden Gate Capital.

About Bridgepoint
Bridgepoint is an international private equity firm. With over €20 billion of capital raised to date, it typically focuses on acquiring well managed companies in attractive sectors helping companies and management teams by investing in expansion, operational transformation or via consolidating acquisitions. It has offices in Europe, China and the United States in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Shanghai and Stockholm. For more information, see www.bridgepoint.eu

About Safety Technologies Holdings
Safety Technologies Holdings (“STH”) is a global company whose strategy is to harness the best of today’s technologies for the creation of high-quality products which play an important role in improving safety, comfort and protection of people and their environment. STH is the world’s leading supplier in the design and manufacture of sophisticated safety test equipment, associated technical support and laboratory services. Furthermore, STH develops and supplies finite element software models for computerized crash test simulations and also specialties in fiberoptics and static & dynamic strain measurements. For additional information on STH, see www.sthholdingsinc.com

About Golden Gate Capital
Golden Gate Capital is a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with over $15 billion of capital under management. The principals of Golden Gate Capital have a long and successful history of investing across a wide range of industries and transaction types, including going-privates, corporate divestitures, and recapitalizations, as well as debt and public equity investments. Other notable industrials investments sponsored by Golden Gate Capital include US Silica, EP Minerals, ArrMaz, Springs Window Fashions, ANGUS Chemical Company and Atrium Windows. For more information, visit www.goldengatecap.com