Cleveland, OH, and Boston, MA – MPE Partners (“MPE” or “Morgenthaler Private Equity”) announced today an investment in Webster Industries, Inc. (“Webster” or the “Company”), a market leading manufacturer of engineered class chain, engineered class sprockets, and vibratory equipment for material handling and power transmission applications across diverse industrial end markets. Domestic, diverse, and vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities differentiate Webster on quality, service, lead times, and customization capabilities against competitors.
MPE acquired Webster from its employee-owned stock ownership plan and partnered in the transaction with the current management team, including Andrew J “AJ” Felter, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Dean Bogner, EVP & Chief Commercial Officer, who will continue to lead Webster in its next phase of growth. AJ Felter noted, “MPE’s cultural fit, experience with ESOPs, and successful history of providing strategic and operational resources to help accelerate growth made them the preferred partner for Webster.” Dean Bogner further commented, “This transaction marks a significant milestone for Webster and its employees and customers. We remain steadfast in delivering innovative solutions to our customers and are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead of us working with MPE.”
Constantine Elefter, Partner at MPE, said, “We are thrilled about our investment in Webster. The Company has an enviable position in its served product categories and markets driven by strong customer-first centricity. In partnership with AJ and Dean, we plan to accelerate growth by investing in the team and enterprise and we see numerous organic growth opportunities for continued product innovation and end market expansion.” Tom Wyza, Vice President at MPE, added, “We are equally excited about pursuing complementary add-on acquisitions that enhance Webster’s value proposition.”
Fidelity Direct Lending and Apogem Capital provided financing to support the transaction. Jones Day served as legal advisor to MPE. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Webster Industries
Founded in 1876 and headquartered in Tiffin, OH, Webster is a leading manufacturer of engineered class chain, engineered class sprockets, and vibratory equipment for material handling and power transmission applications. Webster serves OEMs / systems integrators, power transmission distributors, and end users across a diverse set of industrial end markets including forest products, grain, recycling, and aggregates. Webster operates from facilities in Tiffin, OH, Newberg, OR, and Meridian, MS, and goes to market under the Webster and Action brand names. For more information, please visit https://www.websterchain.com/ and https://actionconveyors.com/.
About MPE Partners
MPE Partners (“MPE” or “Morgenthaler Private Equity”) seeks to be the preferred partner for entrepreneur- and family-owned companies. Based in Cleveland, OH, and Boston, MA, MPE invests in profitable, lower middle market companies with EBITDA between $8 million and $40 million. MPE has two primary target investment areas: high-value manufacturing and commercial & industrial services. For more information, please visit www.mpepartners.com.