Castle Harlan

Castle Harlan is a private equity firm based in New York City. The company focuses on buyouts and growth capital investments in middle-market companies across a range of industries. Founded in 1987, Castle Harlan invests in controlling interests in middle-market companies in North America and Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia through Castle Harlan Australian Mezzanine Partners.

Castle Harlan
TypePrivate
IndustryPrivate equity
Founded1987 (1987)
HeadquartersNew York, New York, U.S.
ProductsLeveraged buyout, Growth capital
Number of employees
25+
Websitewww.castleharlan.com

Castle Harlan's team of 18 investment managers has completed over 50 acquisitions since its inception with a total value of approximately $10 billion. The firm currently manages investment funds with equity commitments of approximately $3.5 billion.[1]

Castle Harlan has invested, through its five domestic funds, in more than 55 platform businesses that totaled over $11 billion of enterprise value.[2]

History

Castle Harlan was founded in 1987 by John K. Castle and Leonard M. Harlan,[3] but its history goes back to the 1960s. During the 60s John Castle headed all of the private equity activities, including the Sprout Capital Group, at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ). At that time DLJ used some of the first limited partnerships to bring institutional investors into private equity investing. From the period between 1979 and 1986, Castle rose to become the president and chief executive officer at DLJ.[4][5]

Leonard Harlan joined DLJ in 1965. Harlan left DLJ in 1969, and formed a real estate investment group, The Harlan Company. In 1987,[6] Castle and Harlan, with a few others raised $125 million for its new limited partnership, Legend Capital Group, L.P., to invest in leveraged buyout transactions.[7]

In 1999, Castle Harlan teamed with Bill Ferris and Joseph Skrzynski of Australian Mezzanine Investments to create Castle Harlan Australian Mezzanine Partners, also known as CHAMP. CHAMP focuses on control investments in middle-market businesses in Australia and Southeast Asia with similar criteria to Castle Harlan. CHAMP also has an affiliate, CHAMP Ventures, that invests in small buyouts, non-control growth capital and venture capital. CHAMP raised its second fund with A$950 million of investor commitments in 2005 and its third fund with A$1.5 billion in 2010.[8]

On April 17, 2018, Castle Harlan announced its agreement to purchase the oil and gas production equipment assets of Exterran Corporation.[9][10] The deal resulted in the creation of a new company, Titan Production Equipment. The sale was closed in summer 2018, and Titan Production Equipment launched in July 2018.[11][12]

In August 2019, Castle Harlan, together with Branford Castle Partners, purchased Sunless Inc., a spray tanning equipment manufacturer, from The Riverside Company.[13][14]

In October 2019, the company sold one of its portfolio companies, Gold Star Foods, to Highview Capital. Castle Harlan purchased Gold Star in April 2014.[15][16]

By November 2019, the firm had the following five investments: Sunless, Shelf Drilling, Caribbean Restaurants LLC,[17] Titan Production Equipment and Tensar Corp.[18]

Investments vehicles

Private equity funds

Since its launch, Castle Harlan has participated in the following eight private equity funds. Five located in the United States, and three in Australia: The following are the U.S. based funds:

FundVintage YearCommitted Capital
Castle Harlan Partners V2010Approx. $1.0 billion[19]
Castle Harlan Partners IV2003$1.2 billion[20]
Castle Harlan Partners III1997$630 million[20]
Castle Harlan Partners II1992$275 million[21]
Legend Capital Group1987$125 million[22]

Portfolio companies

Castle Harlan co-owns Bravo Brio Restaurant Group,[23] Tensar,[24] Polypipe Group,[25] Horizon Lines,[26][27] Ames True Temper,[28] Austar United Communications,[29][30] McCormick & Schmick's,[31][32][33] RathGibson,[34][35] United Malt Holdings,[36][37] and AmeriCast Technologies.[38]

Company Acquisition Year Purchase Price Year sold Price sold
Tensar Corporation 2014
Bravo Brio Restaurant Group 2006
Polypipe 2005 $527 million
Horizon Lines 2004 $650 million
Ames True Temper 2004 $380 million
Austar United Communications 2003 $34.5 million
McCormick & Schmick's 1994 and 2001 1997 and 2004
RathGibson 2006 $260 million 2007 $440 million
United Malt Holdings 2006 2009
AmeriCast Technologies 2006 2008 $288 million

Branford Castle, Inc

New York based private equity firm Branford Castle was founded in 1986 as a private market investor in companies with less than $100 million annual sales.[39] It is run by brothers John S. Castle and David A. Castle. In November 2019 Branford Castle sold Surface Preparation Technologies to Dominus Capital[18] and Drew Foam Companies, one of Branford's portfolio companies, purchased Davis Core & Pad from owner Joel Davis.[40] In September 2019 it bought Pulse Veterinary Technologies and in August, 2019 it acquired ABC Industries.[18]

Awards and recognition

In 2019, the Association for Corporate Growth awarded Titan Production Equipment, an affiliate of Castle Harlan, the Houston Deal of the Year Award in the category of Restructuring and Turnaround Transactions.[41][42]

References
  1. "Castle Harlan - Castle Harlan Acquires Securus Technologies". castleharlan.com. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  2. "Castle Harlan". Titan. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  3. Wayne, Leslie. "www.nytimes.com/1988/08/14/business/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-big-breakup-deals.html". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  4. Scannell, Kara (11 July 2002). "Icahn Offers to Buy XO's Loans To Bolster Position in Bankruptcy". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  5. Perry, Nancy J. (1 February 1988). "The firm is his castle". Fortune. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  6. "Legend Capital Group, L.P." New York Company Search. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  7. Wayne, Leslie. "www.nytimes.com/1988/08/14/business/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-big-breakup-deals.html". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  8. CHAMP II Australian buy-out fund closes on A$950m. AltAssets, Aug 3, 2005
  9. Blum, Jordan. "Titan Production Equipment launches as new Houston energy firm". Chron. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  10. Pulsinelli, Olivia. "Exterran sells production equipment business, creating new local company". Bizjournals. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  11. Blum, Jordan (2018-07-11). "Titan Production Equipment launches as new Houston energy firm". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  12. "Exterran sells production equipment business, creating new local company". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-28. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  13. Williams, Jordan. "Riverside sells long-held Sunless to Castle Harlan and Branford Castle Partners | AltAssets Private Equity News". Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  14. "What WeWork's IPO Prospectus Tells Us About Its Business". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  15. Didymus, Mike. "Castle Harlan profits from strong Gold Star Foods growth with sale to Highview Capital | AltAssets Private Equity News". Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  16. Harlan, Castle (2019-10-04). "Castle Harlan Sells Gold Star Foods to Highview Capital". Perishable News. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  17. McNulty, John (2020-04-10). "John K. Castle Defies Predictions, Thrives in Middle Market". Private Equity Professional. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  18. Beltran, Luisa (2019-11-21). "Castle Harlan still active as Branford Castle markets for second fund". PE Hub. Archived from the original on 2019-11-22. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  19. Wu, Elizabeth (15 July 2016). "Castle Harlan promotes controller to CFO". Private Equity International. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  20. PEI Staff (30 December 2012). "Castle Harlan sees green with Charlie Brown's". Private Equity International. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  21. "Carlyle Group sells Horizon Lines to Castle Harlan". American Shipper. 25 May 2004. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  22. Cuff, Daniel F. (26 November 1987). "BUSINESS PEOPLE; Collapse Fails to Stop An Investment Team". New York Times. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  23. GrainCorp Agrees to Buy United Malt for $655 Million. Bloomberg, October 6, 2009
  24. Sormani, Angela (10 July 2014). "Tensar Corporation acquired by Castle Harlan". The PE HUB Network. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  25. "Private Equity News Review August 2007" (PDF). Alt Assets. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  26. Horizon: Castle to Take Horizon Public. The Deal, Mar 3, 2005
  27. Berman, Dennis K. "Carlyle: Losing One To the Underdog". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  28. "Briefing.com: Hourly In Play (R) – 16:00 ET". Insurance News Net. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
    • Austar: Private Equity Funds Sell A$567 mln Stake in Austar. Reuters, Dec 14, 2005
  30. "Acquisition of Controlling Interest in Austar". Wiki Invest. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  31. McCormick and Schmick: Avado Brands Agrees To Sell Restaurants To New York Investors. Wall Street Journal, June 11, 2001
  32. McCormick & Schmick Gets $24M Investment From Castle Harlan. Dow Jones News Service, Oct 19, 1994
  33. "wo New York Buyout Firms Complete Purchase of McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants". Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. L.L.C. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  34. RathGibson: DLJ Beefs Up Portfolio With Manufacturing Purchase. Buyouts, May 14, 2007
  35. "Private equity owner sells RathGibson for $440M". Biz Journals. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  36. United Malt Holdings: How One Private Equity Firm Beat The Odds. Business Week, Nov 13, 2009
  37. "Castle Harlan Sells United Malt for $655 Million". Deal Book. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  38. AmeriCast: Bradken To Buy Rest of AmeriCast Tech for A$114M. Dow Jones, July 29, 2008
  39. "Castle Harlan and Branford Castle Acquire Sunless from the Riverside Company". BeautyMatter. 2019-08-19. Archived from the original on 2019-08-20. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  40. McNulty, John (2019-11-21). "Branford Castle Adds to EPS Platform". Private Equity Professional. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  41. "ACG Houston Announces Winners at Deal of the Year Awards Ceremony | ACG Houston". www.acg.org. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  42. "Castle Harlan Wins "Deal of the Year" Award from ACG Houston". MarketWatch. 11 February 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-02-12. Retrieved 2019-09-15.

Additional references
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