Navis exits label manufacturer Trimco to Partners Group
Navis Capital Partners has sold its majority stake in Trimco International Holdings to Partners Group. The size of the deal was not disclosed but the combination of exit proceeds and dividends received over a seven-year holding period will leave Navis with $111.4 million.
The private equity firm originally invested $11.1 million in the garment label manufacturer through Navis Asia Fund IV.
The transaction represents one of relatively few small-cap control buyouts by private equity investors in Asia. Partners Group obtained senior debt financing for the deal from Chinatrust while maintaining a conservative capital structure. Trimco's existing management team will remain in place, having re-invested a significant portion of their sales proceeds into the company.
Partners Group intends to help Trimco expand its global footprint. To this end, an add-on acquisition of a UK-headquartered label provider, with operations in Turkey and Romania as well as the UK, was completed shortly after the buyout closed. This is expected to nearly double Trimco's consolidated revenues.
Trimco was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Hong Kong. It supplies garment labels, tags and trimming products to global apparel companies.
The company's initial success was built on relationships with garment manufacturers in southern China from its base in Hong Kong. During Navis' tenure, Trimco has expanded its operations in China and also branched out into Southeast Asia, notably in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. It has also entered the India market through the acquisition of a local label manufacturer.
"Our extensive industry network includes potential customers in the apparel and consumer goods sectors and we believe Partners Group, with its global reach, will be an ideal partner in helping Trimco to diversify its international footprint and customer portfolio," said Christoph Rubeli, partner and head of private equity directs at Partners Group.
LPs are increasingly looking at direct investment opportunities, with Asia a particular area of focus. Partners Group notes in its most recent annual report that "direct and secondary investments offered the highest relative attractiveness during 2011 with over two-thirds of total investment activity in these two segments."Partners Group completed 40 direct deals during the period.
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