American Industrial Partners

American Industrial Partners was founded in 1988; according to Indianapolis News, the partnership primary consisted of CEOs who resigned following the takeovers of their companies. The partnership focused on investing in manufacturing companies.[6] Unlike some contemporary investment firms, [7] rather than perform leveraged buyouts, AIP claims to focus on improving the profitability of acquired companies.[8] After acquiring companies, it would focus on "cutting debt and improving operations" while adopting a "hands-off management style" that typically retained previous leadership. Its purchases are typically financed 55% with debt, below the typical 65% to 70% of other firms.[7] Ian Johnson of the Baltimore Sun attributed this conservative financial strategy to AIP's partners, mostly CEOs who had been unseated from their previous companies through hostile takeovers financed by debt.[7]

AIP focused on raising a US$400 million private equity fund that would be used to invest in American manufacturing companies.[9] By June 1993 the firm included the former CEOs of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Mead Corporation, and the Stanley Works and had purchased five companies with a collective annual revenue of US$500 million.[7]

In 1993, the firm purchased the Sweetheart Holdings, Inc., then the largest producer of disposable cups, plates, and straws in the United States,[10] for US$445.6 million. Sweetheart had a negative net worth of US$121.9 million at the time, but after being acquired by AIP it returned to profitability and increased its net worth to US$100 million. By May 1995, however, it reported a small loss due to rising manufacturing costs.[11] Sweetheart merged with the Fonda Group in January 1998; although AIP retained a majority of shares, Fonda Group took over control of management.[12] Sweetheart was sold to the Solo Cup Company in December 2003.[13] By 2004, American Industrial Partners had raised over US$1 billion in equity.[14] AIP closed their fourth fund, valued at US$405 million, in August 2008.[15] A fifth fund closed at US$717.5 million in December 2011.[16]

In August 2010 the company merged Collins Industries, E-One, Halcore Group and Fleetwood Enterprises – acquired between 2007 and 2010 – to form Allied Specialty Vehicles.[17] The company was rebranded to REV Group in November 2015[18] and was taken public in January 2017 with an IPO of US$275 million.[19] The firm consolidated Heil Trailer, Kalyn Siebert, and SERVA into the holding company EnTrans International in 2014.[20] In June 2015, it acquired Anixter's fastener business for US$380 million and rebranded it as Optimas OE Solutions.[21]

AIP's sixth investment fund closed in September 2015 at US$1.7 billion.[22] The firm purchased Canam Group, a Canadian steel manufacturer, for an estimated CA$875 million in 2017.[23] Canam was sold to the Dutil family, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ in 2020 for an estimated CA$840 million, although AIP retained joint control of its American subsidiaries .[24] In November 2018, General Electric (GE) sold GE Current, a manufacturer of LED lighting, to AIP for an undisclosed sum. As part of the deal, the brand retained the GE branding.[25] AIP's seventh fund closed in April 2019 at a value of US$3 billion, its largest sum to date.[26]

Investment holdings in September 2021 were: