NEWs

Year: 2022

Robert W. Baird & Co: East West Acquired by MSD Private Capital Group

East West Manufacturing, LLC (“East West” or the “Company”), owned by private shareholders, Emigrant Capital Corp. (“Emigrant”) and Heritage Growth Partners LLC (“Heritage”), announced today that MSD Partners, L.P. (“MSD”) is investing in the company in partnership with management. Under the agreement, East West Management team will remain significant owners in the company and will continue to lead the business while Emigrant and Heritage exit their investments. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. 

Baird served as the exclusive financial advisor to East West Manufacturing, LLC on this transaction.

ABOUT

East West provides a comprehensive and integrated set of product realization capabilities to a leading and high-growth customer base. With U.S. operations in Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Texas, and international operations in Canada, Costa Rica, Vietnam, China, India, and Mexico, the Company utilizes a global design team, transparent supply chain, on-site quality control, and flexible logistics systems to provide its customers with superior products and competitive cost advantages. Founded in 2001, East West offers its customers a differentiated breadth of onshore, nearshore, and offshore design, engineering, manufacturing, and distribution capabilities to serve the full spectrum of customer needs ranging from new product design to full scale production and distribution. East West is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Emigrant Capital Corp. is a division of Emigrant Bank, which is headquartered in New York City. 

Heritage Growth Partners LLC is a private, family investment office focused on serving owner-managers and their companies to accelerate growth and create long-term value. Heritage personally invests non-control growth capital alongside management and take a collaborative approach to build true partnerships that are enhanced by their ongoing strategic, financial and operational support. Heritage is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. 

MSD Partners, L.P. is a leading investment firm focused on maximizing long-term capital appreciation across its core areas of investing expertise – Credit, Growth, Private Capital and Real Estate. MSD deploys capital on behalf of Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell and his family, as well as other like-minded, long-term-oriented investors. MSD Partners, which operates from offices in New York, Santa Monica and West Palm Beach, manages in excess of $20 billion. 

MSD Private Capital pursues opportunities where there is an emphasis on partnership and its uniquely flexible capital base is viewed as differentiated in its ability to support a company’s next phase of growth. In situations where those two dynamics co-exist, MSD Private Capital seeks to be the partner of choice for companies led by owners and management teams who are seeking a thoughtful, flexible and patient partner and investor with a business-building mindset.

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East West Manufacturing Announces Strategic Investment by MSD Partners

ATLANTA, FEB. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — East West Manufacturing, LLC announced today that MSD Partners, L.P. is investing in the company in partnership with management. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2001, East West provides a comprehensive and integrated set of product realization capabilities to a leading and high-growth customer base. With U.S. operations in Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Texas, and international operations in Canada, Costa Rica, Vietnam, China India, and Mexico, East West utilizes a global design team, transparent supply chain, on-site quality control, and flexible logistics systems to provide its customers with superior products and competitive cost advantages. East West addresses the full spectrum of needs of SMB and enterprise customers in high-growth end markets, such as automation / robotics, industrial technology, fitness / medical, and smart devices / IoT. Key capabilities include:

  • Product Design and Engineering – including initial product design, advanced product engineering, and ongoing engineering services 
  • Manufacturing – including outsourced product and component manufacturing and assembly on behalf of OEMs 
  • Supply Chain Management – including third-party logistics solutions, such as inventory management, reverse logistics, and order fulfillment

The investment from MSD Partners will support East West’s strategy to continue to extend its end-to-end capabilities – from rapid prototyping and R&D, to collective design, manufacturing, and supply chain solutions. Over the past four years, the company has completed nine acquisitions, principally in North America. Going forward, the company will be evaluating acquisition opportunities to build upon or otherwise establish new capabilities to support customers, from product inception to full-scale production on a global basis.

Scott Ellyson, East West’s CEO and Co-Founder, said, “It’s been an honor to go through this process with the MSD team and we couldn’t be more excited about the partnership. Their expertise and capital will only help to accelerate our already impressive growth.  We have a shared interest in developing and manufacturing innovative products that improve our lives. Through this new partnership, we will continue to rapidly expand our capabilities globally to best support our customers. I am also so appreciative and proud of the East West team. We’ve all worked hard to get to this point and are thrilled and committed to a future with MSD.”

“East West is a perfect fit with MSD Partners’ strategy of investing behind talented management teams and founder-led companies that are stable, high growth, and well-positioned in attractive markets,” said Kevin Brown, Head of MSD Private Capital.

“Scott, Jeff, and team have built a remarkable business. We were honored to be chosen as their partner and are excited to support them in the next phase of East West’s continued success,” said Chris Bertrand, a Managing Director in MSD Private Capital.

The East West management team will remain significant owners in the company and will continue to lead the business following MSD’s investment. In connection with the transaction, Emigrant Capital Corporation and Heritage Growth Partners LLC will be exiting their investments.

East West and its existing shareholders were advised by Baird and Squire Patton Boggs. MSD Partners was advised by KeyBanc Capital Markets and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

About East West Manufacturing, LLC
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, East West provides a comprehensive and integrated set of product realization capabilities to a leading and high-growth customer base. With U.S. operations in Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Texas, and international operations in Canada, Costa Rica, Vietnam, China, India, and Mexico, the Company utilizes a global design team, transparent supply chain, on-site quality control, and flexible logistics systems to provide its customers with superior products and competitive cost advantages. Founded in 2001, East West offers its customers a differentiated breadth of onshore, nearshore, and offshore design, engineering, manufacturing, and distribution capabilities to serve the full spectrum of customer needs ranging from new product design to full scale production and distribution.

About MSD Partners and MSD Private Capital 
MSD Partners, L.P. is a leading investment firm focused on maximizing long-term capital appreciation across its core areas of investing expertise – Credit, Growth, Private Capital and Real Estate. The Firm deploys capital on behalf of Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell and his family, as well as other like-minded, long-term-oriented investors. MSD Partners, which operates from offices in New York, Santa Monica and West Palm Beach, manages in excess of $20 billion. For further information, please see www.msdpartners.com.    

MSD Private Capital pursues opportunities where there is an emphasis on partnership and its uniquely flexible capital base is viewed as differentiated in its ability to support a company’s next phase of growth. In situations where those two dynamics co-exist, MSD Private Capital seeks to be the partner of choice for companies led by owners and management teams who are seeking a thoughtful, flexible and patient partner and investor with a business-building mindset.

Contacts: 

For East West Manufacturing
Andy Reese
404-268-8767
areese@ewmfg.com 

For MSD Partners
Todd Fogarty or Anntal Silver, Kekst CNC
212-521-4854 or 212-521-4849
todd.fogarty@kekstcnc.com or anntal.silver@kekstcnc.com 

SOURCE East West Manufacturing, LLC; MSD Partners, L.P.

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East West Manufacturing Announces Acquisition of Compass Electronics Solutions 

ATLANTA, GA – JANUARY 5, 2022

East West Manufacturing, LLC (“East West” or the “Company”), a global design, engineering, manufacturing and distribution services business, announced today that it has acquired operations of Compass Electronics Solutions (“CES”), a provider of integrated electronics manufacturing services, including advanced printed circuit board assemblies, box-build assemblies, wire and cable harness assemblies, and new product introduction services. This acquisition further enhances the growth of East West by adding well-established operations in Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, and advances the Company’s strategic focus on growing its North American design, manufacturing and distribution capabilities.

“We are extremely excited to expand our integrated design, engineering, manufacturing and distribution services into Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas,” said Scott Ellyson, East West Co-founder and CEO. “Compass has a strong reputation for putting customers first and has an established presence for innovation in a variety of high-growth sectors such as medical & life sciences, commercial & industrial and aerospace & defense. The joint operations in Mexico and Texas allow us to offer our customers even greater nearshore, higher mix, lower volume, quick turn integrated manufacturing services as the international manufacturing landscape continues to diversify. This initiative fits perfectly with our collective design, manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, allowing us to support customers from product inception to full-scale production on a global basis.”

John Huhn, Managing Partner, Compass Group Equity Partners said, “We couldn’t be more excited for the CES team with this outcome. The partnership with East West creates significant opportunities for CES to better serve its existing customer base and to expand into new markets. The CES team has done a tremendous job navigating an ever-changing environment and we are confident they will continue their successes in the future.”

About East West Manufacturing, LLC
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, East West is an integrated global design, engineering, manufacturing and distribution services partner for original equipment manufacturers and distributors throughout North America and Europe. With North American operations in Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Texas, Massachusetts, Canada and Mexico and international operations in Costa Rica, Vietnam, China and India, the Company utilizes a global design team, transparent supply chain, on-site quality control and flexible logistics systems to provide its customers with superior products and competitive cost advantages. Founded in 2001, East West offers its customers a differentiated breadth of onshore, nearshore and offshore design, engineering, manufacturing and distribution capabilities to serve the full spectrum of customer needs ranging from new product design to full scale production and distribution.

About Compass Group Equity Partners
Compass Group Equity Partners, founded in 2015, is a St. Louis-based private equity firm with a record of success in acquiring and building lower middle-market companies. Ranked #30 in the Top 150 Privately Held Companies for 2020 by the St. Louis Business Journal, Compass Group’s investors are comprised of family offices, institutions, and the principals of Compass Group. By leveraging the expertise of these individuals, in addition to capital, Compass Group provides hands-on support and resources to aid management teams in exceeding historical performance and accelerating growth.

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