Private equity firm invests in manufacturer

Private equity firm invests in manufacturer

Photo via charterindustries.com

An out-of-state private equity firm has invested in a local supplier to furniture makers.

Pittsburgh-based Incline Equity Partners said last week it made the investment in Kentwood-based Charter Industries, a maker of products for furniture and fixtures, such as polyvinyl chloride edgebanding and wood edgebanding, T-molding and veneer sheets.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are excited to have partnered with Pete Eardley and the entire management team at Charter,” said John Morley, managing director, Incline Equity Partners.

“The company’s clients rely upon Charter’s industry-best lead times, incredible breadth and depth of inventory, same-day shipping capabilities and overall dedication to customer service, and we’re delighted to be a part of such an organization.”

Pete Eardley, founder and CEO of Charter Industries, said the company is “proud to be a trusted supplier in the market.”

“For almost 30 years, we have focused our efforts on continually growing a better business for customers and employees,” Eardley said.

“With Incline as our partner, we will be able to leverage their experience to assess new avenues for growth, particularly in acquisitions and new product additions.”

Chicago-based Twin Brook Capital Partners served as administrative agent on financing to support Incline Equity Partners.

Charter Industries

Founded in 1991, Charter Industries specializes in supplying edgebanding and ancillary case good products to "thousands" of furniture and case good manufacturers operating in a variety of markets.

Incline Equity Partners

Incline Equity Partners is a private equity firm that makes investments in middle-market growth companies.

It seeks companies with values of $25 million to $300 million across a variety of industry sectors, including specialized light manufacturing, value-added distribution and business services.

Its typical investment types are ownership transitions for privately held businesses, buyouts, corporate divestitures and minority recapitalizations within the U.S. and Canada.