Washington (February 1, 2009) – FOCUS LLC, a national middle market investment banking firm providing merger, acquisition, divestiture and corporate finance services, announced today that Aerospace Products, S.E. (APSE) has been acquired by Acorn Growth Companies and Cherokee Nation Businesses LLC. FOCUS represented APSE in this transaction, which closed in August, 2008.
APSE, a multigenerational family business, engaged FOCUS to assist in raising capital for growth and to support an ownership transfer across generations. Founded in 1987, Alabama-based APSE supplies Milspec and other connectors and parts, as well as related logistics services, to aerospace companies and MRO organizations primarily supporting U.S. government maintenance requirements.
The resulting sale of APSE to an acquisition group including strategic and financial buyers was determined to be an attractive option for all; key management roles for the continuing family members were combined with growth capital and the strategic benefits of associating with Acorn’s portfolio companies. Acorn, an Oklahoma-based private equity group focused on the aerospace industry, joined forces with Cherokee Nation Businesses, LLC, a wholly owned corporation of the Cherokee Nation, which also has aerospace holdings.
According to Jeff Davis, Acorn’s CEO ”John Slater of Focus was instrumental in helping the parties work through a number of difficult issues, while preserving the positive personal relationships with the management team which were critical to the company’s ongoing success post closing.”
About FOCUS LLC
FOCUS LLC provides a range of middle market investment banking services with an emphasis on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and corporate finance. FOCUS is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. FOCUS specializes in business units with transactions or revenues in the $5-300 million range, serving entrepreneurs, corporate owners and various types of investors across a broad range of industries, throughout the U.S. and worldwide. FOCUS bankers are seasoned operating and financial executives with extensive transaction experience. Securities transactions conducted by Wm. H. Murphy & Co., Inc. registered Broker Dealer member FINRA/SIPC. For more information on FOCUS, visit www.focusbankers.com.
