Industrial Buyouts Are Smooth as Glass for Graham Partners This Month

August has been a hotter month for Graham Partners than for most. On the heels of its acquisition of LINE-X last week, the firm completed its second platform buyout of the month yesterday, acquiring Abrisa Industrial Glass, Inc., of Santa Paula, California (www.abrisa.com). Abrisa is a leading fabricator of advanced flat glass components whose products are sold to OEMs and contract manufacturers primarily in the technology & electronics, lighting, industrial & commercial equipment, optical, biotech & medical, and construction industries. Abrisa fabricates a broad array of glass components by applying a variety of value-added processes and chemical treatments to meet customer specifications or application requirements. With a strong presence in technology and electronic markets, Abrisa is poised for continued growth, driven by increased demand for scanner and touch screen products, which are growing at the expense of traditional information input and data collection products and practices.

Graham’s strategy is to acquire industrial businesses, such as Abrisa, that are benefiting from raw materials and technology conversion trends in their industries, where Graham can utilize its extensive operating resources and industrial network to add value during its holding period.

Eric Selfridge, President of Abrisa, had this to say about the transaction: “My father and I have worked together for over 20 years to build one of the foremost specialty glass fabrication businesses in the country. Through our partnership with Graham, we plan to further invest in innovative glass processing technologies in order to meet growing demands from our customers for specialty products that are suitable for increasingly demanding environs.”

Bill McKee, Managing Principal of Graham Partners added, “We knew early on that Abrisa would be a great fit for us, given our successful heritage of working with focused, growing, lower middle market manufacturing companies that possess proprietary manufacturing know-how. In particular, Abrisa has an excellent reputation with its blue chip customer base, possesses extensive glass fabrication competencies, and has the potential to be a consolidator in a very fragmented industry.”

Broadly speaking, Abrisa participates in the $1.9 billion advanced flat glass market (Freedonia: Advanced Flat Glass to 2008; excludes construction and automotive segments). Serving a diversified customer base, Abrisa holds a leading market position in low to mid-volume, critical, highly specialized glass components. Abrisa’s core market in technology applications is projected to grow over 13% annually. The Company’s strong presence in touch-screen and bar code glass products supports continued growth as industry research indicates continued conversion to the use of touch screen interfaces for kiosks, industrial equipment and point-of-sales applications. Abrisa has the added benefit of customer and end market diversity, with meaningful positions in specialty lighting, industrial and medical glass applications. Though terms were not disclosed, Merrill Lynch Capital, a division of Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services Inc., provided the senior debt financing, with National City Equity Partners providing subordinated debt to support the transaction.

About Graham Partners: Graham Partners is a leading, lower middle market industrial private equity firm based in suburban Philadelphia with over $700 million under management. Graham Partners is sponsored by the privately held Graham Group of York, Pennsylvania, an industrial and investment concern with global interests in plastics, packaging, machinery, building products and outsource manufacturing. Graham Partners seeks to acquire industrial companies with revenues between $20 million and $350 million that participate in manufacturing niches where it can leverage its unique combination of operating resources and financial expertise.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bill McKee (bmckee@grahampartners.net)
Christina Morin (cmorin@grahampartners.net)
Tel: 610.408.0500 / Fax: 610.408.0600
www.grahampartners.net