Ardian North America Direct Buyouts team acquires dynamic technologies and merges acquisition with Huron

Ardian, the independent private investment company, today announces that its North America Direct Buyouts team will acquire Dynamic Technologies S.p.A. (DT), a global designer and manufacturer of automotive fluid-handling systems and precision aluminum parts. Concurrent with the DT acquisition, Ardian will merge Huron Inc. (Huron), an existing portfolio company controlled by the Ardian North America Direct Buyouts team, with DT. Huron is also a designer and manufacturer of automotive fluid-handling systems. 

The combined entity will have ten manufacturing facilities across United States, Canada, Mexico, Italy, United Kingdom, Poland, Hungary and China serving the North American, European and Asian markets.  

The combination of DT and Huron creates the leading global supplier of automotive tubular components, achieving critical mass, product diversification, new materials capabilities, a worldwide manufacturing footprint, cross-selling opportunities, and a well-balanced customer base.  

For the past five years, DT and Huron have been at the forefront of developing automotive engineering and materials solutions and have grown faster than the underlying automotive industry. As a result, both companies have achieved steady sales growth and greater penetration of the automotive tubular market, expanding their respective manufacturing and engineering capabilities to meet the increasing customer demand for tubular solutions. In addition, sales growth for both entities has been driven by growing tubular product demand for turbocharged engines, EGR systems and other fuel efficient and emissions control technologies. 

Walter Zonta, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DT will become the CEO of the newly merged company, which will ultimately be headquartered in North America.  Jerry Solar, the CEO of Huron will remain the CEO of Huron. Robert Bales, the current Chairman of Huron, will become the Chairman of the combined company.

Vincent Fandozzi, Head of Ardian North America Direct Buyouts said, “This combination of DT and Huron will create the premier company in the automotive tubular components segment.  The combined company will be able to leverage compelling market opportunities and embark on the next stage of its growth.  We look forward to supporting the company in the years ahead, and in turn, providing long-term and sustainable value for our stakeholders.”

Walter Zonta, CEO of DT said, “Market trends in the tubular business require suppliers to become more vertically integrated and global in the manufacturing and business development approach. With this merger, DT will establish an important base in the US and access to new OEM customers. Furthermore, the highly talented team of Huron will become an important asset in the future growth of the global group. The new company formed by DT and Huron is a focused supplier in the segment of fluid handling tubing for transmission and engines and becomes a predominant player in North America, Europe and China. We thank Ardian North America, a growth oriented investor in this space, for making this merger possible.”

Jerry Solar, the CEO of Huron said, “We are bringing together two great companies with an extraordinary amount of automotive industry experience. Like DT, the employees at Huron are deeply committed and have an understanding of what it takes to be competitive in a global automotive market. By combining our two teams, we see enormous potential to leverage the complimentary core competencies, product diversification, and global manufacturing footprint. We are excited to further evolve the business and provide our customers with an innovative product offering and superior support.”

Ardian launched its North America Direct Buyouts activity in October 2016 when it brought on board the team from Seven Mile Capital Partners, led by Mr. Fandozzi along with Kevin Kruse, Ardian Managing Director. The North American direct investment activity focuses on lower middle market buyouts, specifically middle market industrial and related business services companies in North America.

Financial details for the transactions with DT and Huron were not disclosed.