American Securities Closes $5 Billion Private Equity Fund at Hard Cap

 

 

American Securities, LLC, a leading U.S. private equity firm, today announced the first and final closing of American Securities Partners VII, L.P. (ASP VII) with total capital commitments of $5 billion.  As a result of strong investor interest, American Securities closed the fund above the $4 billion target and at the hard cap the firm established at the outset of fundraising in September 2014.

“American Securities greatly appreciates the interest expressed in ASP VII by many long-standing relationships, as well as new investors, from the US and global investing community,” said Michael G. Fisch, President and CEO of American Securities.  “This new partnership provides us with further equity capital to support management teams in growing their businesses.”

American Securities invests in partnership with existing management teams of market-leading businesses, generally having $200 million to $2 billion of revenues and/or $50 million to $200 million of EBITDA.  The firm strives to be a long-term, value-added partner to the CEOs and management teams of the companies in which it is privileged to invest.  In deploying ASP VII, American Securities will pursue the same disciplined investment approach developed over the past 20 years and will aim to invest $200 million to $500 million of equity capital in each situation, although larger investments are also possible.

“ASP VII maintains the 25-year fund life potential of prior American Securities funds, thus permitting American Securities to remain invested in a company for many years and allowing management teams the flexibility to always act in the best long-term interest of their businesses,” stated David L. Horing, a Managing Director of American Securities, who along with Mr. Fisch is a Managing Member of ASP VII’s general partner. 

American Securities also plans to continue its tradition of investing with conservative financial structures.  CEOs of companies partnered with American Securities often comment that these aspects are beneficial to their businesses.  “We are a company with a long history of employee and management ownership, and American Securities has been a strong partner for us because of their long-term perspective coupled with their willingness to utilize lower leverage, which has provided greater flexibility to our business,” said Joe Chlapaty, Chairman and CEO of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE: WMS).

The firm is led by an experienced and cohesive team.  The Managing Directors on the Investment Team average more than 13 years at American Securities.  Bill Redmond, former President and CEO of General Chemical Corporation, commented on the capabilities and support that American Securities provides, “During our partnership, we benefitted greatly from the stability and insight of the American Securities team.  They helped us create value for all of our stakeholders.” 

In addition to the Investment Team, American Securities supports management teams with the Firm’s Resources Group, a team of functional experts available upon request by CEOs.  George Thanopoulos, CEO of Metaldyne Performance Group Inc. (NYSE: MPG) explained, “American Securities has been a truly value-added partner.  We have been able to continuously access the Resources Group, particularly in the areas of information technology and human capital.  American Securities brought MPG talent and unique capabilities that we’ve not seen in other private equity firms.”  Since 2006, the Resources Group has included a strong China office to support management teams’ Asia-Pacific activities.  Dave Brooks, President and CEO of Unifrax Corporation, observed, “We chose to work with American Securities a second time because of the strong relationships we built with their team initially.  In addition, we wanted to expand our footprint in China and felt that American Securities’ local team in Shanghai provided valuable specialized expertise.”

 

Funds Affiliated with Apollo Global Management to Acquire Presidio from American Securities

New York, NY – (December 1, 2014) – American Securities LLC and Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO) (together with its subsidiaries, “Apollo”) today announced that funds affiliated with Apollo have entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Presidio Holdings, Inc. (“Presidio” or the “Company”) from affiliates of American Securities.  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Presidio is a premier IT infrastructure solutions provider for approximately 6,000 clients across the United States.  Aided by the expertise of its nearly 1,200 engineers, Presidio assists clients in designing, procuring, implementing and managing IT infrastructures that deliver tangible business value. Presidio provides services across six core technology verticals, including networking, data centers, mobility, security, collaboration, and contact centers and supports these solutions with market leading offerings such as Presidio Managed Networks and Presidio Managed Cloud. With over 2,200 total employees across 57 offices, Presidio is one of the largest private IT services providers in the nation.

“Our partnership with American Securities over the past three and a half years has allowed us to expand our offerings and execute accretive acquisitions,” said Bob Cagnazzi, Chief Executive Officer of Presidio.  “At the same time, we are excited to announce this transaction with Apollo, which has a proven track record of investing in market-leading businesses, and we look forward to partnering with them to further develop and scale Presidio’s franchise.”

Matthew Nord, Partner at Apollo Global Management, said, “We are pleased to be partnering with Bob, his talented management team and Presidio’s outstanding workforce. Together, they have successfully built Presidio into a leader in the IT services arena, and we look forward to supporting them in their ongoing growth initiatives.” 

LionTree Advisors served as financial advisor to Apollo. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal counsel to Apollo.  Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse Securities served as financial advisors to Presidio. Weil Gotshal & Manges served as legal counsel to Presidio.     

About Presidio
Presidio is a leading provider of professional and managed services for advanced IT solutions. We architect infrastructure technology solutions that address business needs. More than 2,200 Presidio IT professionals, 1,200 of which are engineers with over 2,000 industry leading certifications, are based in 57 offices across the US. By employing a unique, local delivery model combined with the scale of a $2.3B industry leader, Presidio addresses the full life-cycle of multi-technology, hybrid IT delivery models. For more information visitwww.presidio.com.

About American Securities LLC
Based in New York with an office in Shanghai, American Securities is a leading U.S. private equity firm that invests in market-leading North American companies with annual revenues generally ranging from $500 million to $2 billion.  American Securities and its affiliates have approximately $10 billion under management.  American Securities is currently investing from its sixth fund.  The firm traces its roots to a family office founded in 1947 to invest and manage a share of the fortune created from the growth of Sears, Roebuck & Co in the early 1900s.  More information about American Securities can be found at www.american-securities.com.

About Apollo Global Management, LLC
Apollo is a leading global alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Toronto, London, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong.  Apollo has assets under management of approximately $164 billion as of September 30, 2014, in private equity, credit and real estate funds invested across a core group of nine industries where Apollo has considerable knowledge and resources. For more information about Apollo, please visit www.agm.com.