Houlihan Lokey Advises Nivel Parts & Manufacturing

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Nivel Parts & Manufacturing Co., LLC (Nivel), a portfolio company of Kelso & Co., LP (Kelso), has been acquired by investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners. The transaction closed on May 19, 2021.

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Nivel is a global manufacturer, distributor, and seller of aftermarket parts and accessories for niche vehicles and heavy-duty equipment. It is a trusted business partner to thousands of dealers, distributors, and consumers in the U.S. and international markets. Nivel owns the most valuable brands in the aftermarket niche vehicle parts and accessories categories: Madjax, Red Dot, GTW, Jake’s, Reliance, Seizmik, and High Lifter.

Kelso is one of the oldest and most established firms specializing in private equity investing. Since 1980, Kelso has invested over $15 billion of equity capital in 132 transactions. Kelso was founded by the inventor of the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and, as a result, the principles of partnership and alignment of interest serve as the foundation of sector expertise, a long-tenured and stable investing team, and a reputation as a preferred partner to management teams and corporate partners. Kelso has significant experience investing in and supporting high-growth distribution platforms. The firm is based in New York.

Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, is a leading middle-market private equity platform that has invested capital in a broad spectrum of industries for over three decades. Morgan Stanley Capital Partners focuses on privately negotiated equity and equity-related investments (mainly in North America) and seeks to create value in portfolio companies primarily in a series of subsectors in the business services, consumer, healthcare, and industrials markets with an emphasis on driving significant organic and acquisition growth through an operationally focused approach.

Houlihan Lokey served as the financial advisor to Nivel. Houlihan Lokey’s Specialty Distribution team has earned a reputation for working with premier distribution clients, providing superior client service, and delivering outstanding results. This transaction highlights the team’s continued success advising market-leading specialty distributors of aftermarket parts and accessories.