Morbark acquired by Alamo Group Inc.

Stellex Capital Management, a middle-market private equity firm with offices in New York and London, has announced it has entered into an agreement to sell Morbark LLC to Seguin, Texas-based Alamo Group Inc. for $352 million.

Founded in 1957 and based in Winn, Michigan, with subsidiary operations in Wooster, Ohio, and Roxton Falls, Québec, Morbark has been a manufacturer of equipment and aftermarket parts for forestry, tree maintenance, biomass, land management and recycling applications for more than six decades. Morbark’s family of companies manufactures mobile equipment and aftermarket parts used for clearing and grinding/chipping and converting trees, wood and related organic waste in maintenance and recycling applications. The company and its affiliate brands produce a full line of brush chippers, stump cutters, mini skid steers, forestry mulchers, aerial trimmers, whole tree and biomass chippers, flails, horizontal and tub grinders, sawmill equipment, material handling systems and mulcher head attachments for excavators, backhoes and skid steers.

“Our investment in Morbark demonstrates our ability to rapidly transform family-run industrial equipment businesses into best-in-class providers within their industry,” David Waxman, managing director at Stellex Capital, says. “We would like to thank the Morbark team for their strategic vision, dedication and execution over these past 3 1/2 years. We are very proud to have worked alongside them transforming Morbark into a leading provider of mobile industrial equipment and believe the company is well-positioned to continue to capitalize on the strong market tailwinds within biomass recycling and tree care maintenance.”

Since Stellex’s acquisition in 2016, Morbark has increased its headcount by over 200 employees, revenue has nearly doubled and EBITDA has increased over 200 percent, the company says. Additionally, Morbark successfully completed two add-on acquisitions to expand its product offerings and geographic presence. In October 2017, Morbark acquired Rayco Manufacturing, a Wooster-based manufacturer of stump cutters, crawler trucks, forestry mulchers, multi-tool carriers, brush chipper and aerial trimmers. In December 2018, Morbark acquired Denis Cimaf, a Roxton Falls-based manufacturer of industrial brush cutters and mulchers.

“We would like to thank Stellex for recognizing Morbark’s potential and investing both time and capital in order for us to achieve our strategic vision,” Dave Herr, CEO of Morbark, says. “Together with Stellex, Morbark has greatly enhanced operations, implementing lean initiatives and best-in-class manufacturing practices that have resulted in new and improved product redesigns, significant reduction in lead times and improved delivery performance. We are grateful for our time working with Stellex and look forward to this next chapter as part of Alamo, an ideal suitor given its operating philosophy that will allow us to maintain our brands, operations and successful momentum while further enhancing various operational synergies and accelerating international growth.”

Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals.

Baird, Milwaukee, served as exclusive financial advisor, and DLA Piper, London, served as legal counsel to Stellex and Morbark with respect to the transaction.