Morgenthaler Private Equity Announces the Sale of Avtron Loadbank

CLEVELAND, March 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Morgenthaler Private Equity ("MPE"), the Cleveland and Boston-based private equity team focused on lower middle market buyouts, announced today that it has completed the sale of Avtron Loadbank, Inc. ("Avtron Loadbank" or the "Company"), a market-leading designer and manufacturer of power integrity test and measurement devices, to Emerson (NYSE: EMR).  The Company's load bank technologies test and validate the quality and integrity of power sources, such as primary and standby generators and uninterruptible power supplies, in critical applications such as data centers, hospitals, airports, telecommunications, commercial and industrial buildings, and water and wastewater utilities.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Jeff Gwinnell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Avtron Loadbank, was quoted as saying, "The combination of Avtron Loadbank with Emerson represents an exciting opportunity for growth.  With the acquisition of Froment in 2010, Avtron Loadbank solidified its position as the clear global leader in load banks, and as part of Emerson we see terrific potential to further broaden our customer base and geographic reach.  The entire senior management team at Avtron Loadbank thanks Morgenthaler for their constructive support over the course of our successful partnership."

Avtron Loadbank was one of three companies owned by Avtron Holdings, LLC ("Avtron").  Avtron Industrial Automation, Inc. and Avtron Aerospace, Inc. were not part of this transaction and will continue to operate under Avtron and be owned by MPE.  MPE originally acquired Avtron in November 2007.  Peter Taft, Chairman of Avtron and Partner at MPE added, "In partnership with management, we expanded the Company's global footprint through its acquisition of Froment which furnished a direct sales force serving Europe, the Middle East and Asia, as well as developed new product introductions and enhanced operational efficiency.  On behalf of Karen Tuleta, Matt Yohe, and Constantine Elefter of MPE, it has been a pleasure working with Jeff Gwinnell, Keith Williamson (Managing Director, Froment), Bill Hatch (CFO), and the entire senior management team at Avtron Loadbank.  There is no doubt that under their collective leadership the Company will continue to execute on its growth plan, as well as deliver the highest level of customer service and products to its customers."

Jones Day served as legal advisor and Harris Williams served as financial advisor to Morgenthaler Private Equity.

About Avtron Loadbank

Headquartered in Valley View, OH, and founded in 1953, Avtron Loadbank is a worldwide leader and industry technology expert in the design and manufacture of high-quality resistive and reactive load banks, neutral grounding resistors, and industrial power resistors.  The Company's products are used for factory testing, commissioning, service, and periodic exercising of standby emergency power systems, which include diesel generator sets, gas turbine generators, UPS systems, and back-up battery systems.  Avtron Loadbank employs approximately 200 people across its three manufacturing operations in the U.S. and the U.K. 

About Morgenthaler Private Equity

Morgenthaler is a leading, national private equity and venture capital firm, with approximately $3 billion under management and investments in more than 300 companies over its 44-year history. Morgenthaler Private Equity is the firm's private equity team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and Boston, Massachusetts. MPE focuses on the lower middle market with transaction values between $25 - $150 million and EBITDA in excess of $5 million. MPE has two primary target investment areas: high-value manufacturing and proprietary business services. For more information on Morgenthaler's private equity group, please visit: http://www.morgenthaler.com/private-equity/.

SOURCE Morgenthaler