Littlejohn & Co. Announces Investment In Gulf Coast Shipyard Group, Inc.

GREENWICH, Conn., May 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Littlejohn & Co., LLC, a private investment firm based in Greenwich, CT, announced today that it has made an equity investment in Gulf Coast Shipyard Group, Inc., a manufacturer of a variety of ocean-going and inland marine vessels for commercial and military markets under the brand name TY Offshore, as well as superyachts under the brand name Trinity Yachts.

Centrally located on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast manufactures offshore supply vessels, tank barges, military patrol vessels, tugs and superyachts from two facilities located in Gulfport, MS and New Orleans, LA. Gulf Coast entered the commercial vessel market in 2010 with the brand name TY Offshore and has invested significant capital into its facilities to serve the commercial vessel market and has successfully built a significant backlog of offshore supply vessels and inland tank barges.  The company also expanded its presence in the military vessel market.

Littlejohn & Co. intends to work closely with the existing Gulf Coast management team to support their strategic growth plans and continue investments in both shipyards.  John Dane III, President and CEO, will continue to lead the company as he has for the past 13 years since taking Trinity Yachts private from Halter Marine in 2000.  Felix S. Sabates Jr. will step down as Chairman to become an advisor and consultant to the new organization.

Mr. Dane stated, "Littlejohn has an impeccable reputation along with the ability to bring equity, strategy and experience in order to successfully grow our operations and market share.  I am also happy to announce that we will be starting a $9 million capital improvement program to the Gulfport, Mississippi yard which will increase our efficiency and annual output. These improvements will also upgrade our Syncrolift to 4,300 tons in anticipation of building ice class vessels for Artic operations."

Edmund J. Feeley, Managing Director of Littlejohn, said, "We look forward to our partnership with the Gulf Coast management team to continue the company's strong growth trajectory into new markets.  The company has a strong backlog of orders, and oil and gas drilling and production activity is expected to remain strong with demand for vessels serving this industry expected to continue, as well as vessels targeted for other commercial and military markets."  

Gulf Coast Shipyard Group, Inc.
Gulf Coast Shipyard Group, parent of TY Offshore and Trinity Yachts, is a Gulfport, Mississippi based company and a leader in the design and construction of commercial vessels including oil field support vessels, tank barges, offshore barges, tugs,  oil spill response and patrol vessels – as well as super yachts – in aluminum, steel and composite.  Vessels range from 10 meters to 95 meters in length. Gulf Coast's in-house engineering, naval architecture and under-cover construction facilities ensure quality workmanship and on-time delivery.  For more information on Gulf Coast Shipyards, please contact Jim Rivers at [email protected] or William S. Smith III at [email protected] and please visit our websites at www.TYOffshore.com and www.trinityyachts.com .

About Littlejohn & Co., LLC
Littlejohn & Co. is a Greenwich, Connecticut-based private equity and distressed securities firm investing in middle-market companies that are undergoing a fundamental change in capital structure, strategy, operations or growth that can benefit from its operational and strategic approach.  The firm is currently investing from Littlejohn Fund IV, L.P., which has over $1.3 billion in capital commitments. For more information, visit www.littlejohnllc.com.

Contact: Chris Tofalli
Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC
914-834-4334

SOURCE Littlejohn & Co., LLC