Cleavland, Ohio — Western Reserve Partners LLC announced today that it advised Fire-Dex, LLC (“Fire-Dex”) in its recapitalization.
Headquartered in Medina, Ohio, Fire-Dex, LLC is one of North America’s largest and fastest growing manufacturers of turnouts and related gear for firefighters, consistently recognized for its superior customer service and a high quality, broad product line. The Company manufactures and supplies custom fire fighting turnouts, EMS, search and rescue, wild lands and proximity apparel, as well as gloves, hoods, boots and accessories throughout the United States, Canada and South America.
As a result of the transaction, Fire-Dex provided liquidity to its previous junior capital providers and facilitated continued growth of the business with a new financial partner, Peninsula Capital Partners L.L.C. (“Peninsula”) through its Peninsula Fund V L.P., which provided subordinated debt and preferred equity. JPMorgan Chase Bank provided the senior secured credit facility. The recapitalization was structured to allow Bill Burke, Chairman and majority shareholder, to acquire an increased equity ownership position and provide a strong financial partner to facilitate the continued growth of the business.
Managing Directors David Dunstan and Kenneth Hirsch, Director Rebecca White and Analyst James Petersen coordinated the assignment for Western Reserve Partners, which worked closely with Fire-Dex and its senior management to successfully recapitalize the business.
“We enjoyed working with the Fire-Dex management team and its shareholders once again and are pleased that we were able to structure a transaction that achieved a successful exit for the previous junior capital providers, while increasing Bill Burke’s ownership position,” said Mr. Dunstan. “Peninsula will be a solid partner for Fire-Dex, which will enable the Company to continue to execute its growth strategy.”
Mr. Burke said, “Western Reserve ultimately delivered significant value to Fire-Dex’s shareholders. Their knowledge of our industry and attention to detail at every stage were essential to achieving an outcome much better than I had anticipated at the outset of the process. We are now well-positioned with a strong financial partner to capitalize upon our growth strategy.”
About Western Reserve Partners LLC
Western Reserve provides M&A, capital raising and other financial advisory services to middle market companies across a focused set of industry verticals, including industrial, business services, consumer, healthcare, technology and real estate. With over 30 professionals in three offices (including affiliates), Western Reserve delivers thoughtful advice, keen market insight and superior execution to its clients, both nationally and internationally. Western Reserve’s managing directors average nearly 30 years of experience and have directly executed more than 600 transactions throughout their careers.
Western Reserve is a member of M&A International, the world’s largest alliance of investment banking firms, as well as World Services Group, a global consortium of middle market focused law firms and other advisors, which provides unparalleled access to global companies and investors. We are a FINRA-member broker / dealer and member of SIPC.
