News

River Associates Investments LP has acquired North Hollywood, California-based GAHH, a maker of aftermarket convertible tops, Jeep tops, seat covers and vehicle interiors. No financial terms were disclosed. Abacus Finance and Eagle Private Capital provided the financing for the deal. Bass, Berry & Sims advised River Associates on the transaction while Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and Prestwick Advisors LLC advised GAHH.

PRESS RELEASE

Chattanooga, TN, May 14, 2018: River Associates Investments, LP (“River Associates” or “River”) a longstanding lower-middle market private equity firm based in Chattanooga, TN, announced that it has partnered with management through a newly formed entity, TopDown, Inc. (“TopDown”) to acquire GAHH, LLC (“GAHH”).

Based in North Hollywood, CA, GAHH is a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of aftermarket convertible tops, Jeep tops, seat covers and vehicle interiors. GAHH holds a leading market position with an estimated 65% share in the U.S. aftermarket convertible vehicle tops market, excluding Jeeps.

“River has been exceedingly diligent throughout the process. GAHH’s brand structure has a number of moving parts and River’s genuine interest and thorough research into our company set the firm apart in the opinions of our management team,” said Rodney Wells, CEO of GAHH.

“They were attentive to our vision for growth and had excellent contributions to our strategies from the start. We believe River’s history with similar investments and their successful organic and strategic growth approach will help guide GAHH and TopDown to the next level.”

“GAHH is an impressive company comprised of several high quality brands that provide comprehensive offerings to the automotive aftermarket,” said Mike Brookshire, Co-Managing Partner at River Associates. “We were drawn both to their current leadership position in the market as well as their unique position for growth. River is excited to step into a partnership role with Rodney and the management team to pursue that growth, and we believe it will be a very successful chapter for everyone involved.”

River funded the transaction with equity from its seventh investment fund (River VII, L.P.).

Financing was provided by Abacus Finance and Eagle Private Capital. River Associates was advised by Bass, Berry & Sims PLC. GAHH was advised by Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and Prestwick Advisors, LLC.

TopDown, Inc., the parent company of GAHH, will seek to acquire businesses that manufacture or supply similar or complementary products to the end markets referenced above. Please contact Mark Jones for additional information.

About River Associates:
River Associates is a private equity firm that focuses exclusively on investing in the lower middle market and has partnered closely with management teams for over 28 years. Target businesses can be privately held, private equity-backed or divestitures from larger companies. River Associates is opportunistic as to industry and has invested in numerous manufacturers, high margin distributors, industrial service and business service companies. The Firm is currently investing its 7th committed fund ($285 million) and seeks to make investments in companies with $3-15 million of EBITDA throughout the United States and Canada. Since its founding in 1989, River Associates has initiated 87 transactions, many of which have been strategic add-on acquisitions to platform companies. River Associates is headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee. For additional information visit www.riverassociates.com