The Riverside Company and co-shareholders have sold REPA Group to Parts Town, a portfolio company of Berkshire Partners

REPA Group

REPA is a leading distributor of spare parts for professional kitchens, coffee and vending machines in Europe. REPA prides itself on having the largest range of high-quality spares in Europe and the best service. With several automated warehouses, 13 international locations and over 700 employees, REPA is dedicated to quick and efficient delivery of spare parts. Members of the REPA Group are LF (Italy), GEV (Germany), EPGC (France), Atel (Italy) and CCS (UK).

The Deal

After its acquisition in 2016, The Riverside Company successfully executed an ambitious buy-and-build strategy and transformed the company from being a small, independent specialist distribution business into a leading distributor of spare parts for professional kitchens, coffee and vending machines in Europe with an expanding global footprint. Under Riverside’s ownership, REPA established new product categories, strengthened original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partnerships, built out warehouse capacity, automated processes and laid the groundwork for a group-wide enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation. On the back of strong top-line growth and substantial EBITDA expansion in recent years, REPA is ideally positioned to further extend its positioning and evolve as a Distribution as a Service platform supported by a new owner. For REPA, the transaction is the next logical step in the development of the company and in line with their own growth aspirations.

Key success factors of the transaction included Lincoln International’s ability to ramp up and streamline all workstreams in parallel within a tightly managed due diligence process, in cooperation with the REPA management team, due diligence advisors, lawyers and Riverside.

Our Perspective

Ulrich Desl, Managing Director in Lincoln International’s Frankfurt office, commented, “This transaction is exemplary for flawless cooperation among the sellers, management, lawyers, all other due diligence advisors and our deal team. We were extremely impressed by the quality of the organization of REPA, which was crucial to executing the transaction in a very short timeframe.”

The Riverside Company

Riverside is a global private equity firm focused on investing in growing businesses valued at up to $400 million. Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has made more than 800 investments. The firm’s international private equity and structured capital portfolios include more than 140 companies. Riverside Europe is an integral part of the firm’s broad global network and has invested in Europe since 1989. Riverside believes a truly global presence provides exceptional insight into local conditions, culture and business practices, making team members better investors and business partners.

PT Holdings

PT Holdings, a portfolio company of Berkshire Partners and parent company of Parts Town, comprises a parts distribution division as well as a technology and innovation group. The parts distribution division is a leading distributor of OEM spare parts globally, consisting of Parts Town, Parts Town Canada, First Choice Group and Dayton Appliance Parts. The Red Lightning Group of PT Holdings is a new and separate division focusing solely on innovation to support the foodservice industry and beyond.

Berkshire Partners

Berkshire Partners is a private equity firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, with a focus on well-positioned, fast-growing companies. During the last 35 years, Berkshire Partners has made more than 145 private equity investments since its inception and has a long history of working with management teams to grow the companies it invests in. The firm invests in communications, consumer, healthcare, industrials, services and technology companies.

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