Houlihan Lokey Advises AvCarb Material Solutions

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that AvCarb Material Solutions (AvCarb), a portfolio company of ALY Holdings, has been acquired by Arsenal Capital Partners. The transaction closed on October 29, 2021.

AvCarb is a leading manufacturer of mission-critical engineered carbon components for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, electrolyzers, flow batteries, and automotive and industrial applications. With a multigenerational legacy supporting emissions-reducing applications, the company’s main products include advanced gas diffusion layers (GDL) and molded graphite layers, woven carbon fabrics, and carbon felts used in electrochemical and friction applications. The company’s technology portfolio is well positioned to address the imminent and longer term needs for global de-carbonization by providing highly engineered materials that enable the production of hydrogen, the conversion of hydrogen to electricity, and the storage of energy. AvCarb has over 60 employees in its facility in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Arsenal Capital Partners is a New York, New York–based private equity firm that specializes in investments in middle-market industrials and healthcare companies. Since its inception in 2000, Arsenal has raised institutional equity investment funds of more than $7.0 billion, completed more than 200 platform and add-on investments, and achieved more than 30 realizations.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive sellside financial advisor to AvCarb and assisted in marketing, structuring, and negotiating the transaction on behalf of ALY and management. The transaction highlights the team’s expertise and continued success of Houlihan Lokey’s dedicated coverage of the industrial technology and engineered components sector.