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Kachi Partners Acquires Photo Stencil
June 27, 2007 |Estimated reading time: 1 minute
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Private equity firm Kachi Partners (Boulder, Colo.) acquired Photo Stencil in a leveraged buy-out transaction.
The purchase is substantial to Photo Stencil's long-term growth, said Bill Moerbe, president, Photo Stencil. He noted that it would lead to global expansion and new products and technologies. "We will expand and actively pursue a product line of wave solder pallets with the additional capital supplied through this acquisition," added Michael Burgess, vice president, Photo Stencil. The company plans to become a "one-stop shop," providing stencils, squeegees, wave solder pallets, and inspection templates for SMT and mixed assembly. For more on the pallet operations, see Photo Stencil Adds Pallet Product Manager. This product expansion will lead to more design and manufacturing in Colorado Springs, which could lead to additional staff, noted Burgess. He sees the acquisition as positive for the community as well as the company.
Future expansion globally involves other "areas of interest," said Burgess, but would not detract from the company's U.S. operations. Photo Stencil currently operates in the U.S., Mexico, and Malaysia and produces electroformed, laser-cut, and chemically etched stencils, as well as SMT tooling solutions. The acquisition was financed with debt from Fifth Third Bank in Denver. Mirus Capital Advisors, a middle-market investment bank based in Massachusetts, advised Photo Stencil.
Kachi referred to Photo Stencil as "well managed" with a scalable business model. The company will be positioned for organic, strategic growth, said Eric Weissmann, managing director, Kachi. Moerbe and Burgess will collaborate with Kachi through the Board of Directors. Kachi, a positive, aggressive investor according to Moerbe, typically acquires small- to mid-size businesses with niche markets that are well managed, said Burgess. The equity firm is hands-off to an extent, keeping the management system and daily operations at Photo Stencil intact, but will provide strategic guidance on capital and business opportunities. "Kachi is knowledgeable in our industry and has studied this market," Burgess noted. With the infusion of capital from Kachi we can accelerate our long-term plans with faster product ramps and global roadmaps, concluded Moerbe, calling this an "exciting move" for the company.