Crestview Weighed IPO of JR Automation Before Clinching $1.4 Billion Sale – Barron’s

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Crestview Partners considered taking JR Automation public before deciding on a sale, a person familiar with the situation said.

The New York private-equity firm even interviewed bankers for a possible IPO of JR Automation, the person said. Crestview received substantial inbound interest for the company it owned for four years, the person said.

Dual track processes, where a seller pursues an IPO and sale at the same time, have become more common. Crestview, however, had so much interest for JR Automation that it never got far with the IPO. It decided to do a sale first and if it didnt like the result, then [theyd] do the IPO, the person said.

The strategy worked. Hitachi on Friday, Dec. 27, closed its $1.425 billion buy of the Holland, Michigan company. Crestview made about 7.5 times its money with the sale, the person said. Goldman Sachs & Co and BofA Merrill Lynch advised JR on the sale.

Established in 1980, JR Automation designs and delivers automated manufacturing systems for customers in sectors including automotive, consumer products and construction. Clients seek out JR Automation when they want a product made or are having manufacturing problems, the person said. JR Automation, which employs more than 2000 people, often uses robotics in its solutions, the person said.

With JR Automations robotic system integration capabilities, combined with Hitachis digital solutions and technologies, we can provide customers with new, unparalleled value by connecting the whole process, Masakazu Aoki, executive vice president and executive officer of Hitachi, said in a statement.

C restview invested in JR Automation in March 2015, PitchBook said. Since then, the company has seen its sales more than triple to over $600 million from $170 million. JR Automation currently has 23 plants in North America, Europe, and Asia, up from five in 2015.

Crestview focuses on sectors including industrial and financial services. The PE firm used its third fund, which closed on $3.2 billion in 2015, to invest in JR Automation. Crestview is currently marketing for its fourth flagship; it has collected at least $1.88 billion for Fund IV, press reports said in August. The buyout shop could raise as much as $3.5 billion for the pool, Buyouts reported in January 2018.

A spokesperson for JR Automation could not be reached for comment.

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Crestview Weighed IPO of JR Automation Before Clinching $1.4 Billion Sale - Barron's

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