Wellspring Capital Management Acquires ThermaSys Corporation

NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Wellspring Capital Management LLC ("Wellspring") today announced that it has acquired ThermaSys Corporation ("ThermaSys" or the "Company"), a leading manufacturer of a wide range of heat exchangers and heat exchange equipment, from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc.  Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1971 in Montgomery, Alabama as Thermal Components, Inc., ThermaSys has one of the broadest product offerings in the industry, supplying a diverse range of highly engineered, custom-designed heat exchangers and heat exchanger components, including aluminum and brass seam-welded tubing.  The Company is uniquely positioned to supply highly engineered heat exchanger products for a wide variety of applications, either as single components or combined in complex systems incorporating multiple heat exchanger products.  ThermaSys has expanded its operations through both acquisitions and organic growth initiatives.

William F. Dawson, Jr., a Managing Partner of Wellspring, said, "We are delighted to invest in ThermaSys, which has a long tradition as a market leader in the low volume, highly engineered segment of the heat exchanger industry.  This established platform has a proven track record of performance and is recognized by customers for its exceptional product and service offerings.  We are excited to further enhance the value of ThermaSys through organic initiatives and acquisitions."

Paul Schmitz, President and CEO of ThermaSys, said, "ThermaSys is proud to become a portfolio company of Wellspring Capital, which has a successful track record supporting growing businesses.  Our team has accomplished a great deal in recent years and we look forward to continuing to grow and provide our customers with new products and services under Wellspring's ownership."  

John E. Morningstar, a Partner of Wellspring, said, "We were attracted to ThermaSys for the quality of its strong management team led by Paul Schmitz.  The team is committed to continuous operational improvement and to expanding its world-class offerings to customers.  We are very excited to partner with this team to capitalize on ThermaSys' many attractive growth opportunities."

Wellspring has significant experience investing in industrial businesses.  In 2008 the firm acquired Cleaver-Brooks, Inc., one of the world's largest manufacturers of fully integrated boiler and burner systems, which as a heat technology-related business serves end markets similar to ThermaSys.  Wellspring has also invested in Tube City IMS, a leading provider of outsourced services to the global steel industry, and JW Aluminum, a leading producer of specialty flat-rolled aluminum products.  

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to Wellspring with respect to the transaction, and Alvarez and Marsal Transaction Advisory Group provided finance, accounting and tax advice.

About ThermaSys Corporation
Founded in 1971 in Montgomery, Alabama as Thermal Components, Inc., ThermaSys is a leading manufacturer of low volume, short run, highly-engineered copper/brass and aluminum heat exchanger components and assemblies. The Company's low/medium volume products consist of radiators, condensers, charge air coolers, oil coolers, shell/tube heat exchangers, and modules. Its higher unit volume products include seam welded aluminum and brass tubing. Solutions are customized for clients in a diverse set of end markets, including electric power generation, industrial and construction equipment, oil and gas, automotive and truck, HVACR and marine. ThermaSys operates from facilities in Alabama, Wisconsin, Germany, the United Kingdom, and China.

About Wellspring Capital Management
Wellspring Capital Management, founded in 1995, is a leading middle-market private equity firm that manages more than $3 billion of private equity capital. The firm's objective is to bring partnership, experience and value creation to each investment. By teaming up with strong management, Wellspring is able to unlock underlying value and pursue new growth opportunities through strategic initiatives, operating improvements and add-on acquisitions. The firm functions as a strategic rather than tactical partner, providing management teams with top-line support, M&A experience and financial expertise, and access to resources. For additional information, please visit www.wellspringcapital.com.

SOURCE Wellspring Capital Management