In an article dated January 4, 2011, AltAssets published a story about Sentinel Capital Partners. It had been announced Sentinel Capital had acquired Chase Doors on the same day it unloaded ReachOut Healthcare. If I remember correctly this is where Morgan Stanley stepped in, with the help and assistance of R. Kirk Huntsman.
As what usually happens in these type of things, a little history is given; that is where the bodies are found buried.
January 4, 2011
Lower mid-market private equity firm Sentinel Capital Partners has acquired US door manufacturer Chase Doors, on the same day that it announced the sale of dental support service ReachOut Healthcare America.
In both cases, financial terms were undisclosed.
Chase Doors, founded in 1932, produces specialty door systems employed in a variety of industrial and commercial settings including corrosion-resistant doors used for hazardous material handling; cold storage doors used in walk-in freezers and refrigerators; double impact traffic doors used in supermarkets and restaurants; and strip and roll-up doors used in warehouses.
The company’s revenues are evenly distributed across new construction, remodeling and replacement, and maintenance in the retail, industrial, pharmaceutical, food processing and markets.
“One of Sentinel’s areas of focus is branded, niche manufacturing businesses,” said Scott Perry, a vice president at Sentinel.
“Our previous investments in the niche manufacturing sector have given us a keen understanding of how to foster growth for businesses like Chase and financial guidance that positions our team to enhance Chase’s current market position while continuing to grow.”
New York-based Sentinel’s investments in other specialty niche manufacturing businesses include pressure regulator provider Engineered Controls International, industrial lubrication equipment maker Alemite, and Fasloc, which produces roof support systems used in underground mines.
- ReachOut, which the firm has just sold, provides a diagnostic, preventative, and restorative dental services to underserved children in schools and foster programs, the aged and disabled in residential facilities, and to US Army National Guard units.
- Sentinel made its initial investment in the company in 2007 in partnership with its two founders.
- In 2008, ReachOut acquired its largest competitor, Mobile Dentists, acquiring Georgia-based Help A Child Smile in early 2010.
- Today, (January 2011) ReachOut operates in 25 states and provides dental care to more than 425,000 underprivileged children, seniors, and military personnel each year.
“It has been extremely rewarding to work with the ReachOut and Mobile Dentists management teams,” said David Lobel, managing partner at Sentinel.
- “ReachOut is now firmly established as a powerful growth platform that delivers critical dental care to large and underserved segments of the population. We are proud to be affiliated with a business that not only has done well for its investors, but also provides a greatly needed healthcare service.”
- “We are fortunate to have enjoyed considerable success investing in the dental industry and will continue to seek new dental investment opportunities in the future,” said Paul Murphy, a partner at Sentinel.
- In the past, Sentinel has taken stakes in Castle Dental Centers, sold to Bright Now! Dental in 2004, and Metro Dentalcare, sold to American Dental Partners, in 2007.
