Century City-based private equity firm OpenGate Capital reported a substantial pick up in transaction activity in January.
It announced the sale of one company, agreements to acquire two companies, and the closing of another purchase.
“We’ve had a lot of activity,” Andrew Nikou, OpenGate’s founder and chief executive, said in an interview.
“Our pipeline is significant in terms of opportunities of companies that we are investing.”
In the latest deal, announced Jan. 30, OpenGate agreed to buy Sargent and Greenleaf Inc., a Nicholasville, Ky.- based manufacturer of mechanical and electronic locks.
The acquisition of Sargent and Greenleaf is expected to be completed by March 31. Nikou declined to comment on transaction details.
OpenGate has also been busy on other deals, including finding a bolt-on acquisition for its portfolio company EverZinc, a European specialty zinc chemical business. OpenGate purchased GH Chemicals Ltd. and sister company Microzinc Inc., Canadian manufacturers and exporters of zinc oxide products, as part of an effort to grow EverZinc.
The purchase of GH Chemicals and Microzinc, which is collectively known as GHC, represents OpenGate’s second addon acquisition to EverZinc. Terms of the GHC transaction were also undisclosed.
“The acquisition of GHC is a transformational investment for EverZinc that provides product and market expansion through world-class facilities in Quebec,” Nikou said.
GHC was established in 1974 and is based in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. GHC produces four grades of French Process zinc oxide used for pharmaceutical and food products, as well as fertilizer and feed grades, and various grades for rubber compounding.
OpenGate entered into exclusive discussions on Jan. 15 to purchase the silicon carbide division of French-based Saint-Gobain S.A. The transaction is anticipated to be formally signed and completed in the first half of 2019.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
OpenGate invests in companies that generate up to $1 billion in revenue annually.
Saint-Gobain’s silicon carbide division has a global manufacturing footprint with sites across Norway, Belgium, Brazil and Venezuela. The business produces metallurgical feedstock, refractory materials, abrasive grains and products used in technical ceramics.
In early January, OpenGate completed the sale of NAKAN, a global PVC compounding solutions business headquartered in Reims, France, to Houston-based Westlake Chemical Corp. OpenGate bought NAKAN in 2015. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.
“NAKAN was one of our most successful exit stories,” Nikou said.
