Littlejohn & Co. Announces Sale of Kaman Distribution Group for $1.3 Billion

By: Littlejohn & Co., LLC via Business Wire

December 16, 2021 at 07:30 AM EST

Littlejohn & Co., LLC (“Littlejohn”) announced today that an affiliate has signed a definitive agreement to sell Kaman Distribution Group (“KDG” or the “Company”), a leading distributor of highly engineered products and provider of related services, to Motion Industries, Inc. (“Motion”), a subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC), for $1.3 billion in cash.

Based in Bloomfield, Connecticut, KDG is a leading technical solutions platform, providing highly customized products and services to the North American bearings and power transmission, automation and fluid power markets. Operating through three segments, Kaman Industrial Technologies, Kaman Automation and Kaman Fluid Power, KDG’s multi-platform capabilities enable solutions for applications across all operating environments, with a national presence of approximately 220 branches serving as a critical link between nearly 10,000 suppliers and 50,000 customers nationwide. The Company serves a diverse set of end markets, including food and beverage, logistics, electronics, heavy machinery, water infrastructure, pulp and paper, and healthcare, among others. Littlejohn acquired KDG from its former parent, Kaman Corporation (NYSE: KAMN), in August 2019.

Tony Miranda, a Managing Director at Littlejohn, said, “We are proud to have supported KDG’s transformation into a leading industrial distribution platform. During our ownership, KDG successfully and seamlessly transitioned into an independent company, strengthened its leadership team by recruiting several experienced industry veterans, and refocused the organization on driving operational excellence and reinvigorating growth. It has been a great pleasure working with Ben Mondics and the KDG team, and we wish them continued success in partnership with Motion.”

Steven Kalter, a Managing Director at Littlejohn, stated, “Thanks to the tireless efforts of KDG’s world-class management team and over 1,700 dedicated associates, the Company navigated through a difficult market environment and emerged even stronger. Over the last two years, KDG has realized significant margin improvement through focused initiatives around strategic pricing, procurement, operating expense rationalization and footprint optimization – all while reenergizing its M&A program.”

Ben Mondics, President and Chief Executive Officer of KDG, added, “Littlejohn has been an invaluable partner for our business and team, bringing its deep knowledge of corporate carveouts and extensive experience in value-added distribution to help position the Company for long-term success. We are excited to join forces with Motion and leverage the combined platform to better serve our valued customer and supplier partners.”

Robert W. Baird & Co. served as exclusive financial advisor and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal advisor to KDG.

About Littlejohn & Co., LLC

Littlejohn & Co. is a Greenwich, Connecticut-based investment firm focused on private equity and debt investments primarily in middle-market companies. With approximately $14 billion of regulatory assets under management, the firm seeks to build sustainable success for its portfolio companies through a disciplined approach to engineering change. For more information about Littlejohn, visit www.littlejohnllc.com.

About Kaman Distribution Group

Headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut, KDG is a leading national distributor of highly engineered products and provider of related services with approximately 220 locations across the United States and Puerto Rico. Established in 1971, KDG’s technical salesforce has been servicing its customers for over 50 years, providing components and systems for a broad range of applications, along with value-added automation, engineering and integration services. For more information about KDG, visit ec.kamandirect.com/storeus/kamandistribution.