Houlihan Lokey Advises One Equity Partners

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that it served as buyside and financing advisor to One Equity Partners (One Equity) on its acquisition of SGB-SMIT Group (SGB-SMIT), the largest independent, pure-play manufacturer of power transformers, from BC Partners. The transaction closed July 18, 2017.

One Equity is a middle-market private equity firm focused on the industrial, healthcare, and technology sectors in North America and Europe. The firm builds market-leading companies by identifying and executing transformative business combinations. One Equity is a trusted partner with a differentiated investment process, a broad and senior team, and an extensive track record of generating long-term value for its partners. Since 2001, the firm has completed more than 140 transactions worldwide. One Equity, founded in 2001, spun out of J.P. Morgan in 2015.

SGB-SMIT supplies transformers to utilities, grid operators, renewable energy OEMs, and industrial clients. Headquartered in Regensburg, Germany, its origins date back to 1900. Today, the company is the leading medium-sized manufacturer of transformers in Europe, supplying customers worldwide from six production sites in Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Malaysia, and the U.S. Over the past three years, the company managed to outgrow its market significantly, reaching more than €700 million in sales in 2016.

SGB-SMIT was acquired by One Equity Partners VI L.P., the first fund raised with outside capital following the firm's 2015 spinout from J.P. Morgan. The fund was successfully closed in early February 2017 with total capital commitments of $1.65 billion, surpassing its target.