Mill Point Capital has sold Spire Power Solutions to ERMCO

Spire Power Solutions

Headquartered in Athens, Georgia, Spire Power Solutions has been serving the electrical utility, commercial and industrial sectors for more than 100 years. Spire manufactures a full range of liquid-filled and dry-type transformers through the Power Partners, Pioneer Transformers, Jefferson Electric and V&F Transformer brands, serving customers in the utility, commercial and industrial and data center end markets. Spire employs more than 1,000 team members and operates five modern, state of-the-art facilities across Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Canada and Mexico. For more information, please visit www.spirepowersolutions.com.

The Deal

Following Mill Point Capital’s acquisitions of Pioneer Transformers, Jefferson Electric and Power Partners, Mill Point re-branded the combined entity as Spire. Under Mill Point’s ownership the company completed the successful acquisition of V&F Transformer, expanded into pad-mount products, bolstered the management team and vertically integrated critical parts of its manufacturing process.

Given Spire’s impressive growth, outlook and inbound strategic interest, Mill Point was seeking liquidity on its investment in the company. Mill Point turned to Lincoln International to execute a competitive and successful process given Lincoln’s familiarity with the company, Spire’s management team and the energy, power and infrastructure industry. Lincoln led the marketing, diligence and negotiation process, driving competitive tension throughout the transaction.

Electric Research and Manufacturing Cooperative (ERMCO) is a leader in the manufacturing of liquid-filled distribution transformers for the utility, commercial and industrial markets. ERMCO targeted Spire to add highly complementary products with market-leading positions in the dry-type transformer segment, gain additional customer relationships and further infiltrate existing markets.

Dustin Smith, Partner at Mill Point, commented, “The Lincoln team’s guidance, industry expertise and senior-level involvement throughout the process ensured we would find the best home for Spire to continue on its growth journey. We are impressed by Lincoln’s commitment to excellence in delivering an exceptional outcome for both the shareholders and management, and we’re proud to have built the Spire platform with such an accomplished management team. We look forward to witnessing their future success.”

Our Perspective

Sean Bennis, Managing Director and co-head of Lincoln’s Industrials Group, commented, “Spire is truly a market leader in the power distribution sector, which is experiencing favorable tailwinds related to heightened power infrastructure demand. Spire’s deep and talented management team recognized the demand in the marketplace and created a best-in-class platform to meet the power distribution needs of customers and end users alike. The company is well positioned for sustainable future growth with its new owner.”

Mill Point Capital

Mill Point is an operationally oriented private equity firm targeting control investments in lower-middle-market companies, with a focus on the industrials, business services and information technology services sectors in North America. Mill Point’s experienced team of investors and executive partners seek portfolio company value enhancement through rigorous implementation of transformative strategic initiatives and operational improvements. Mill Point is based in New York. For more information, please visit www.millpoint.com.

ERMCO

ERMCO, Inc. is celebrating 50 years of being a leader in the manufacturing of liquid-filled distribution transformers for the utility, commercial and industrial markets. Headquartered in Dyersburg, Tennessee, ERMCO and its affiliates; ECI-Greeneville, ECI-Antioch and GridBridge in Raleigh, North Carolina; employ more than 1,800 team members. The company offers a full range of pole and pad mounted transformers, related components and power solutions for global utilities. ERMCO is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (AECI). For more information, please visit www.ermco-eci.com.

The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas comprise 17 electric distribution cooperatives along with AECI, a Little Rock-based cooperative that provides services to the distribution cooperatives, and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp., a generation and transmission cooperative. The distribution cooperatives provide electricity to approximately 600,000 homes, farms and businesses in Arkansas and surrounding states.

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