News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 13, 2024

2023 was an outstanding year for Shorehill Capital LLC (“Shorehill”) and our portfolio companies. This year’s tremendous success is a direct result of both the partnerships we have developed over the years with our referral sources, management teams, and investors as well as our “Business Builder” approach to investing. As Business Builders, we prioritize helping businesses prosper by assembling strong management teams, instilling a culture of continuous improvement, and developing paths to above market growth. We are thankful for the support we have received from those of you receiving this press release and we look forward to expanding our relationships in 2024.

 

Highlights from the year include:

• • • Completed six add-on acquisitions for our portfolio companies, expanding geographic territories served, adding management and sales talent, and broadening product offerings to drive increased growth.
    • Returned significant capital to investors through the sale of portfolio company Power Grid Components, Inc. (“PGC”) to Blackstone Energy Transition Partners in November 2023. This exit serves as a clear example of Shorehill’s Business Builder approach. Through a six-year value-creation program PGC developed into a cohesive organization from the original platform and five add-on acquisitions. The initiatives centered on a strong management team, world class operations, institutionalized processes, and a well-defined organic and add-on related growth strategy.
    • Closed Shorehill Private Equity II LP, an oversubscribed $260 million fund executing control equity investments in lower middle market industrial companies.
    • Invested in human capital talent across critical positions throughout the portfolio:
      • • Ascent Lifting, Inc. (“Ascent”) hired a Vice President of Human Resources and added two outside executives to its board of directors, each with significant experience in value-added distribution.
        • Flexpak, LLC (“Flexpak”) hired its first Chief Operating Officer and first Vice President of Human Resources.
        • PGC added a new President at its Instrument Transformer division and new Vice Presidents in Sales and Engineering at the parent level.
        • Triad Technologies, LLC (“Triad”) filled key commercial leadership roles for each of its three business units: Fluid Power, Industrial Hose, and Seals.

• • • Instilled a continuous improvement mentality across our portfolio companies, with an emphasis on ensuring that each portfolio company operates as “One Company” with “One Culture”:
      • • Ascent completed its first strategic planning session and realigned the organizational chart. Ascent also engaged executive coaches for key leaders to drive team effectiveness.
        • Functional Devices, Inc. (“FDI”) achieved ISO 9001 certification and upgraded its technology infrastructure in sales and marketing, production scheduling, and inventory management. The Company was also recognized as one of Indiana’s “Best Places to Work in Manufacturing” for the second consecutive year.
        • PGC transitioned all divisions to a single ERP system and implemented business intelligence tools to enhance data-based decision making which helped drive on-time delivery to 100% at two of its three divisions.
  • • • Facilitated profitable organic and add-on related growth:
        • • Ascent completed two significant acquisitions in early 2023 which transformed the business, creating a formidable full-service distributor, wholesaler, and fabricator of rigging products.
          • Flexpak opened a new world-class headquarters facility which provides for significant capacity for growth and completed three add-on acquisitions.
          • Triad opened two branches in 2023 and completed the acquisition of Tech-Syn Corporation in March 2023, adding seals and O-rings to its portfolio and expanding into Illinois and Wisconsin.
  • While undertaking the Business Building initiatives outlined above, we also actively invested in and enhanced the Shorehill profile in 2023
    • • • • • • Shorehill was again recognized by Inc. magazine as a Founder Friendly Investor ^1, defined as an investor with a track record of successfully partnering with entrepreneurs. This is Shorehill’s fifth consecutive inclusion on the Inc. magazine list.
              • Shorehill promoted Sean McCarthy to Chief Financial Officer, Robert Jackson to Managing Director, Tyler Nikolich to Senior Associate, and added two new Associates to the team: Anna Hofmockel and Kyle Phillips.
              • We reviewed over 700 investment opportunities in 2023, down 22% from 2022, but Shorehill stayed fully engaged with referral sources, completed over 1,100 interactions with business owner and intermediaries via phone calls, video calls, in-person meetings, events, and webinars.

     

    As we enter 2024, we are excited to build on our 2023 successes and position ourselves as a preeminent Business Builder in the industrial lower middle market. We invite you to visit our website to learn more about Shorehill. Please reach out to our business development leader, Rob Hogan, with any investment opportunities you believe fit with our strategy and approach.

     

    About Shorehill Capital LLC

    Shorehill Capital LLC is a Chicago-based private equity firm with a passion for creating superior companies. Shorehill is focused on making control equity investments in North American engineered industrial products, industrial services, and value-added distribution companies with enterprise values ranging from $20 million to $150 million, and add-ons of any size. Shorehill seeks opportunities with differentiated business models where its experience, network and investment management approach can have a significant impact on the performance of the business. For nearly 30 years Shorehill’s partners have worked with middle market business leaders to accelerate growth and improve operational performance through structured investment management plans.

     

    1 Shorehill has been recognized by Inc. Media as a founder-friendly investor over multiple years.  As part of the qualification process, Inc. Media contacted past and present founders from Shorehill’s investment portfolio to ask them about their experience partnering with Shorehill.  Shorehill was one of multiple firms to receive this recognition. This rating may not be representative of any investor’s experience and is not indicative of any future performance.  Shorehill paid Inc. Media approximately $1,990 for its application in 2023 and $3,245 in 2023 to use Inc’s Founder Friendly logo.  Since investment advisers pay Inc. Media to apply for the recognition and to use the logo each year, Inc. Media has an incentive to offer recognition to investment advisers creating a material conflict of interest.  This rating may not be representative of any one investor’s experience and is not indicative of any future performance.