New York private equity investor Apax Partners L.P. announced late last year a plan to acquire a majority stake in West Chester, Ohio-based Contech Construction
CP STAFF
New York private equity investor Apax Partners L.P. announced late last year a plan to acquire a majority stake in West Chester, Ohio-based Contech Construction Products from Butler Capital Corp., its owner since 1997. Contech licenses production of specialty concrete that includes Con/Span and Bebo, precast arch and wing wall systems suited for short span bridges, and Keystone Retaining Wall Systems, the leading SRW unit brand.
Contech officials describe their company as a leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of specialty construction products sold to the civil engineering infrastructure sector, and the only nationwide provider of storm-water management and treatment systems; bridge structures; earth stabilization and erosion control products; and, corrugated metal and plastic pipe.
Apax anticipates a closing on the $1 billion-plus deal this month, and notes that members of Contech management will participate in the transaction and hold a significant minority position. Apax past investments in building products have involved the Norcraft, RSI and Empire Pacific brands. The company is among a handful of private equity firms participating in recent deals with concrete assets or operators. In February 2005, Rinker Materials sold its Polypipe and Pipe Liners businesses to a Washington, D.C., equity fund manager, The Halifax Group. That deal occurred four months after Boston-based Audax Equity Fund led a leveraged buyout of North Carolina’s Ready Mixed Concrete Co. In August 2003, Austin-based Texas Growth Fund II acquired Hanson Aggregates’ Texas ready mixed operations, renaming them Southern Star Concrete. (TGF II sold Southern Star last month to Colombian cement leader, Grupo Argos.)