Houlihan Lokey Advises Shiloh Industries

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce the successful sale of Shiloh Industries’ U.S. BlankLight assets, owned by MiddleGround Capital, to Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WOR). Acquired assets include Shiloh’s Bowling Green, Canton, Valley City Innovation, and Valley City Wegman facilities. The transaction closed on June 8, 2021.

Shiloh is a global innovative solutions provider focusing on lightweighting technologies that provide environmental and safety benefits to the mobility market. Shiloh has a global network of manufacturing operations and technical centers in Asia, Europe, and North America. Shiloh’s multimaterial solutions consist of a variety of alloys in aluminum and steel grades, along with proprietary lines of noise and vibration reducing acoustic laminate products. The company delivers these solutions in body structure, chassis, and propulsion systems to original equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers in the automotive and commercial vehicle markets.

Shiloh’s BlankLight business unit provides laser welded blanks that set the bar in lightweighting without sacrificing product quality, performance, or formability. BlankLight produces both monolithic and multimaterial blanks using aluminum, mild and high strength steel, and stainless steel.

MiddleGround Capital is a private equity firm that makes control equity investments in lower middle market North American companies in the B2B industrial and specialty distribution sectors. It is currently investing out of its first fund. MiddleGround works with its portfolio companies to create value through a hands-on operational approach and partners with its management teams to support long-term growth strategies.

Worthington Industries is a leading industrial manufacturing company delivering innovative solutions to customers that span many industries, including transportation, construction, industrial, agriculture, retail, and energy. Worthington is North America’s premier value-added steel processor and producer of laser welded products and a leading global supplier of pressure cylinders and accessories for applications such as fuel storage, water systems, outdoor living, tools, and celebrations. The company’s brands, primarily sold in retail stores, include Coleman®, Bernzomatic®, Balloon Time®, Mag Torch®, Well-X-Trol®, General®, Garden-Weasel®, Pactool International®, and Hawkeye™. Worthington’s WAVE joint venture with Armstrong is the North American leader in innovative ceiling solutions.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive sellside financial advisor to Shiloh and assisted in initiating, structuring, and negotiating the transaction on MiddleGround’s behalf. The transaction exemplifies the continued success of Houlihan Lokey’s dedicated coverage of the automotive sector.