Installs inc, LLC (Genstar III)

Installs inc, LLC is a third-party provider of in-home consumer electronics and home improvement installation services, including satellite dish, off-air antenna, residential satellite broadband, home theater, HDTV, window treatments and home computers.

Genstar Capital made its original investment in Installs in August 2002. On April 1, 2008, Genstar Capital sold its investment in Installs to its founders.

For more information on Installs please visit www.installs.com or simply click on the on the company’s logo.

Altra Industrial Motion, Inc. (Genstar III)

IPO: December 20, 2006
Secondary: June 26, 2007

Opportunity

Genstar Capital’s investment in Altra Industrial Motion (“Altra”) resulted from our focus on the Industrial Technology industry. Altra is a leading global designer, producer and marketer of a wide range of mechanical power transmission and motion control products. Genstar created Altra when it acquired Colfax Power Transmission Group in November of 2004 and Kilian Manufacturing Corporation in October 2004, later merging the two companies.

Strategy

Genstar Capital was attracted to Altra’s strong brands, distribution channels and product depth that could be leveraged to increase revenues. Genstar believed that significant opportunities existed to improve the operating profitability of the business. Genstar had access to significant knowledge of Colfax and its markets through Michael Hurt, Genstar SAB member and the former CEO of TB Woods, a leading manufacturer of mechanical power transmission products, and Frank Bauchiero, Genstar SAB member and former CEO of Warner Electric, the largest unit of Colfax. Genstar saw a significant opportunity to create value by driving new product growth, improving cost controls and acquiring an expanded product portfolio through acquisitions.

Result

Genstar aided Altra in the sourcing, execution and integration of three add-on acquisitions, resulting in a strengthened product portfolio, diversified revenue base and expanded geographic reach. By the time of Genstar III’s exit in June 2007, Altra had grown from $303 million in revenue to over $584 million, while pro-forma EBITDA increased from $30 million to $85 million.

In 2006 and 2007, Altra completed its initial public and secondary offering of common stock, in which Genstar III sold its entire stake in the company.

North American Energy Partners, Inc. (Genstar III)

IPO: November 22, 2006
Secondary Offering: August 7, 2007

Opportunity

North American Energy Partners, Inc. (“NAEPI”) is a provider of outsourced construction services to the major oil and gas companies developing the oil sands in the Athabasca region of northeastern Alberta, Canada. In addition, NAEPI provides coal and diamond mine infrastructure services and civil construction services primarily in western Canada.
Capital investment in the oil sands region had grown dramatically over the decade prior to the investment, and Genstar believed it would continue to grow over the following decade. Genstar believed that NAEPI, as a provider of critical construction services in both the project start-up and site expansion phases of oil sands development, was well-positioned to benefit from the expected growth in the region over the following five to ten years. Genstar believed that given the increased political instability in the Persian Gulf area, as well as other oil rich areas such as Venezuela and Nigeria, there would likely continue to be an emphasis by the U.S. on securing sources of oil in politically stable geographies.
On November 26, 2003, Genstar III acquired NAEPI in partnership with the Sterling Group, Perry Strategic Capital, the Stephens Group, and BNP Paribas.

Strategy

As part of Genstar’s initiative to transform NAEPI from a family-owned business to a sophisticated and professional platform, the Firm assisted in the recruitment of Rodney J. Ruston in May 2005. Mr. Ruston joined NAEPI as its President and Chief Executive Officer, previously having served as Chief Executive Officer of Ticor Limited, an Australian raw materials company. Mr. Ruston’s demonstrated leadership ability and experience has had a significant positive impact on the Company.

Result

After three years of ownership by Genstar III, NAEPI had grown from $402 million in revenue to $526 million, while EBITDA increased from $86 million to $112 million. In 2006 and 2007, NAEPI completed an initial public & secondary offering of common stock, in which Genstar III sold its interest in the Company.

Axia Health Management LLC (Genstar IV)

Opportunity

Genstar’s investment in Axia Health Management (“Axia”), a pioneer in the provision of integrated prevention health and wellness services to health plans and large employers, was a result of Genstar’s focus on the healthcare services industry.

Axia management, led by Ben and Hugh Lytle, recognized a significant unmet need in the health plan and employer market place for a company that could provide a complete spectrum of prevention and wellness services. Progressive health plans and employers have increasingly come to appreciate the value of high yield preventive health interventions (e.g. exercise classes, smoking cessation programs, life-style coaching, access to alternative health providers) to both improve the health of their members/employees as well as significantly reduce their overall medical costs, but adoption was hampered by the lack of program providers who could deliver all of the key types of interventions in an integrated fashion and through multiple venues.

In November 2004, Genstar partnered with Axia management together with Nautic Partners to begin building such a company through the acquisition of Healthcare Dimensions, Inc., a $40 million revenue provider of branded exercise classes for seniors through a network of over 1,000 fitness centers around the country.

Strategy

Genstar and Axia management developed a detailed strategic plan to build a truly integrated and comprehensive provider of prevention and wellness services. Guided by the plan, four additional unique health and wellness focused companies were acquired over a fourteen month period. Management was able to integrate these businesses quickly and develop a cohesive management team.

Result

In 2006, Axia grew dramatically to over $150 million in revenue and more significantly sold its first integrated prevention and wellness program to a top five health insurer, validating management’s and Genstar’s original market thesis. As a result, Axia quickly became recognized as the market leader in its field and was approached, unsolicited, by a number of interested strategic buyers. In November 2006, Axia was sold to Healthways, Inc. (HWAY).

PRA International, Inc. (Genstar III)

2007 Investment

Fund: Genstar V

Opportunity

Genstar believes that PRA is a compelling investment opportunity in an industry and company that Genstar knows well. The CRO industry dynamics continue to be quite favorable, with significant industry growth projected over the next five years. With the new management team in place led by Terry Bieker, PRA is one of the strongest CRO platform companies with global capabilities. A private company context should help PRA complete a successful turnaround.

Strategy

Genstar believes PRA has an outstanding management team, a strong business model and intends to invest in the strategic initiatives necessary to allow the company to capitalize on the favorable dynamics of the CRO industry. By making the right investments and empowering employees to succeed, Genstar fully expects to accelerate PRA’s current growth and improve operating margins.

2001 Investment

Fund: Genstar III
IPO: November 18, 2004
Secondary Offering: June 20, 2005

Opportunity

Genstar’s investment in PRA International, a leading global contract research organization (CRO) focused on outsourced phase I-IV clinical drug development services for many of the largest pharmaceutical and biotech organizations, was borne out of Genstar’s focus on the life sciences industry. Genstar and management acquired PRA in June 2001.

Genstar was first attracted to PRA because of the company’s prominent position in the rapidly expanding area of outsourced drug discovery and development services. Major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are increasingly outsourcing non-core elements of the costly and complex drug discovery, development, and approval processes as they focus their resources on investigating the abundant opportunities for new drugs and treatments brought about largely by recent advances in genomics and proteomics.

Strategy

Genstar saw an opportunity to further increase the value of PRA’s franchise by improving EBITDA margins and assisting the company in acquiring other businesses along the clinical research continuum. Genstar and management set a strategic plan focused on i) increasing utilization of PRA’s Trial Management Centers, particularly the newer facilities in Europe, thereby significantly increasing EBITDA and ii) better positioning the company to compete for large, worldwide projects by developing and acquiring capabilities such as an expanded global presence and additional therapeutic specialties, additional phase I capabilities and post-marketing phase services.

Result

Genstar aided PRA in the sourcing, execution and integration of eight add-on acquisitions, vastly increasing PRA’s global footprint and international capabilities. By the time of Genstar III’s exit in December 2007, PRA had grown from $115 million in revenue to over $300 million, while EBITDA increased from $14 million to $46 million over the same period.

In 2004 and 2005, PRA completed initial public & secondary offering of common stock, in which Genstar III sold a significant portion of its holdings. In 2007, Genstar III fully divested its remaining interest in PRA when the company was taken private by Genstar V and affiliates.

Andros Incorporated (Genstar II)

Andros, located in Richmond, California, designs, manufactures and distributes gas analysis components for use primarily in medical and automotive diagnostic applications. Major customers include Colin, Siemens and Philips (acquirer of Agilent’s anesthesia monitoring business).

Genstar Capital made its original investment in Andros in March 1996. On May 4, 2007, Genstar sold Andros to LumaSense Technologies, a strategic buyer. LumaSense Technologies is a global leader in providing quality sensor instrumentation to the clean technology, medical and energy markets.

For more information on Andros please visit www.andros.com or simply click on the on the company’s logo.

BioSource International, Inc. (Genstar II)

Opportunity

The opportunity to invest in BioSource International, Inc., a company specializing in the development, manufacturing and distribution of products used in biomedical research, was sourced through a direct approach by Genstar to the CEO of BioSource as part of its continuing effort in the life science research tools sector.

Genstar was attracted to BioSource by the opportunities in the life sciences arena created by the consistent increase in research and development investment on the part of pharmaceutical and biotech companies, by the sharp increase in the rate of drug discovery fueled by the Human Genome Project and related genomics research, by the company’s strong position in the nascent signal transduction space, and by the company’s relative undervaluation.

Genstar made an initial investment in BioSource and joined its Board of Directors in January 2000. Additionally, Genstar made subsequent open market purchases of the Company’s stock in 2000 and 2001.

Strategy

Genstar developed, in conjunction with BioSource management, a new long-term strategy, aimed to capitalize on opportunities for significantly accelerating sales growth of the company’s signal transduction and cytokine product lines to meet demand spurred by accelerating investment in pharmaceutical, biotech and academic drug discovery and development.

The management and board of BioSource agreed at the time of the Firm’s investment that the company needed new, more professional senior leadership in order to achieve its full potential. GENSTAR recognized that the introduction of more professional management could help transform BioSource into a leading life sciences company.

Result

From 2000 until 2003, Genstar took an active role in recruiting leaders with the ability to develop BioSource’s capabilities in the life sciences market. In July 2002 John Zabriskie, a member of Genstar’s Strategic Advisory Committee, was appointed to the BioSource board of directors, where he provided strong strategic guidance and invaluable industry insight to the management team.

Additionally, Genstar identified a new CEO, Terrance (Terry) Bieker, who came on board as president and CEO in November 2003. Terry formerly served as CEO of Axya Medical, Inc. and President and CEO of Transfusion Technologies Corporation. With his breadth of experience, Terry adeptly led the Company, developing its strengths in the life sciences market. He was able, within a year and a half, to fill out BioSource’s R&D pipeline and guide the Company toward stronger earnings.

By working with Genstar to develop a long-term strategy to accelerate sales of key products, BioSource was able to capitalize on several growth opportunities and establish a market leadership position in cellular pathway products. Over the course of Genstar’s involvement with BioSource, the company’s revenues grew from $29 million to $48 million.

In a transaction that closed in October 2005, Genstar sold the entirety of its investment in BioSource to Invitrogen Corporation (NASDAQ: IVGN).

Stream International, Inc. (Genstar II)

Opportunity

Genstar’s participation in the recapitalization of Stream International, Inc. in December 1999, along with Bain Capital, resulted from our focus on the information technology industry. At the time of our investment, Stream was a global provider of outsourced technical support and customer relationship management services for leading software publishers and hardware manufacturers as well as a leading provider of outsourced help desk support services for major corporations.

Genstar was attracted to Stream by its leadership role in the rapidly growing area of outsourced customer relationship services. Under the prior control of R.R. Donnelley and Sons Company (NYSE:DNY), Stream was managed primarily for revenue growth. The company accepted unprofitable and marginally profitable business and overspent on capital investment, resulting in low margins. We at Genstar saw an opportunity to exit unprofitable business relationships while fostering those that provided acceptable margins and opportunities for increased sales volume.

Strategy

Our strategy was to accelerate revenue growth and improve profitability by terminating any relationship that did not provide a sufficient return and by servicing existing and new business from call centers strategically located to provide access to highly skilled, reasonably priced labor pools.

Result

In the two-year period under Genstar and Bain ownership, Stream increased revenues by over 50 percent and EBITDA by over 100 percent. More telling, Stream improved its gross margins to over 36 percent by 2001, as compared with mid to high 20s in the years preceding our investment. This impressive performance resulted largely from the company’s adherence to criteria designed to attract new customers that could be serviced from lower-cost facilities and that were likely to be receptive to Stream’s cross-selling efforts.

In the face of the deterioration of the technology sector which began in the middle of 2000, Stream continued to improve and expand its lower-cost business model by consolidating some of its higher-cost U.S. operations and pressing forward with expansion plans in Canada and India. As a result of its low-cost site implementations, Stream’s market share, revenue, gross margins and EBITDA all increased in both the second quarter and first half of 2001 compared with the same periods in 2000.

In a transaction that closed on October 26, 2001, Stream was sold to the Solectron Corporation (NYSE:SLR).

NEN Life Sciences, Inc. (Genstar II)

Opportunity

Genstar’s June 1997 investment in NEN Life Sciences, Inc. resulted from our focus on the life sciences industry, which at the time of our investment was characterized by fast growth, fragmented structure and relative under-investment.

Genstar acquired NEN from E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Forty-year-old NEN had $95 million in revenues and was focused primarily on the manufacture and distribution of labeling and detection systems for life sciences research. NEN had a strong franchise, leading market share and superior profitability. Yet as a non-core business of its former parent company, it suffered from lack of leadership and under-investment. Employee morale was low, NEN’s operating performance was deteriorating and product innovation was stagnant.

Strategy

Our strategy was to restore NEN’s growth by providing strong leadership and leveraging NEN’s core strengths: its market position, brand equity and distribution.

Result

To provide NEN with much-needed leadership, Genstar recruited a new CEO, John Zabriskie, Ph.D., former CEO of Pharmacia Upjohn, Inc. We invited Dr. Zabriskie and his management team to invest in the acquisition and implemented aggressive stock option and bonus programs.

After firmly establishing NEN as a stand-alone entity with significant investments in infrastructure and personnel, Genstar and management repositioned NEN to focus on higher-growth markets spawned largely by advances in human genomics and proteomics. Through establishing and strengthening strategic partnerships with companies such as Affymetrix and Kodak and by acquiring Receptor Biology, Inc. and Advanced Bioconcept, Ltd., NEN further strengthened its role as a key supplier of consumables and services to the life sciences industry.

In July 2000, Genstar sold NEN to PerkinElmer, Inc. (NYSE:PKI).

Panolam Industries International, Inc. (Genstar II)

Opportunity

Genstar acquired Panolam Industries International, Inc. from Domtar, Inc. in June 1996. This investment is an example of our industrial technology focus. With $150 million in sales and twice the market share of its nearest competitor, Panolam was the leading North American provider of thermally fused melamine panels (TFM). Panolam’s former owner had operated the company as four separate business units, with significant redundancies in purchasing, administration and sales and marketing.

TFM is a decorative laminate used in the manufacture of kitchen and bath cabinets, office furniture and store fixtures. It is a low-cost, high-quality substitute for Formica and solid wood products. We expected demand for TFM to continue to grow rapidly, with strength coming from home building and remodeling and further displacement of solid wood and Formica products.

Strategy

At the time of the acquisition, our strategy was to streamline operations through the consolidation of two plants into one, to relocate certain manufacturing equipment to the company’s primary manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Ontario to increase capacity, to reorganize into a functional organization and to centralize company-wide purchasing to reduce costs.

Result

Panolam realized substantial costs savings by consolidating two plants, and Genstar supported management’s decision to reinvest the savings into the business. In February 1999, Panolam acquired Pioneer Plastics Corporation from the Rugby Group PLC, a $1.2 billion publicly traded U.K. Corporation. By the time of our exit in November 1999, Panolam had grown from $134 million in revenue to over $334 million, while EBITDA increased from $17 million to $64 million over the same period.

On November 24, 1999, Genstar sold its investment in Panolam to an affiliate of The Carlyle Group.

Gentek Building Products, Inc. (Genstar I)

Opportunity

In December 1994 Genstar, together with Ontario Teacher’s Pension Fund acquired from Alcan Aluminum Inc. the common stock of Gentek Building Products, Inc., a North American manufacturer and distributor of exterior building products for residential renovation and new construction and engineered metal buildings for agricultural and commercial markets. At the time of the acquisition, Gentek commanded a large share of the aluminum and steel residential-siding market, a small but growing share of the rapidly expanding residential vinyl-siding market and a significant regional share of the market for engineered-commercial and agricultural-metal structures.

Strategy

Genstar’s strategy was to consolidate Gentek’s broad product line, exit a number of non-core businesses and invest in the high-growth, vinyl-siding business.

Result

During Genstar’s ownership, Gentek sold non-core businesses and consolidated the remaining operations. Gentek invested more than $12 million in a world-class vinyl-siding manufacturing plant in Burlington, Ontario and increased its share of the high-growth vinyl-siding market to more than 1.3 million squares annually, while reducing costs in its aluminum and steel manufacturing facilities by more than $15 million per year. By 2002 Gentek was benefiting from very strong new home and existing home sales in both the US and Canada, as mortgage interest rates were approaching historic lows. With these excellent market conditions Genstar offered Gentek for sale and it was acquired in mid-2003 by Associated Materials Inc., a strategic buyer.

Prestolite Electric Incorporated (Genstar I)

Opportunity

Genstar Corporation acquired Prestolite Electric Incorporated from Chapter 11 proceedings in October 1991. Prestolite was a global manufacturer and distributor of electromechanical power-conversion products and systems used in heavy-duty vehicles, material handling, defense and industrial applications. Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Prestolite operated 13 plants in the US and UK and sold to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the replacement-parts market.

Strategy

Genstar’s strategy for returning Prestolite to profitability and growth was to invest in product development and quality, to restore customer confidence in the company’s ability to provide excellent customer service and to expand the company’s reach to serve its customers globally.

Result

During the three years after the acquisition, Prestolite consolidated several facilities into six focused plants and moved its headquarters to Ann Arbor, Michigan, also establishing a technology center there. In the following years, the company built its aftermarket position, particularly in alternators, through new product introductions and new market penetration, while at the same time gradually winning back several “standard” positions at both small and large heavy duty truck manufacturers. In 1998, Prestolite acquired the heavy duty alternator and starter motor businesses of Lucas Industries plc which included manufacturing facilities in the UK, South Africa and Argentina. This acquisition provided the company with low cost manufacturing, new markets and an extensive independent dealer network covering Europe, the Middle East and some parts of Asia. The acquisition was financed with a high yield bond offering in the US which also provided a distribution to Genstar greater than the cost of its investment in Prestolite.

Prestolite formed a joint venture in China with a domestic automotive alternator manufacturer in 2000. With Prestolite’s superior technology for alternators designed for heavy duty applications and the manufacturing expertise of the Chinese partners, the joint venture was not only the source for exports to Europe and parts of Asia but also became a significant supplier of alternators to buses in China, a very large market in this developing country.

With revenues increasing in China and strong demand for heavy duty trucks and a growing military segment in the US, Prestolite earned greater than $30 million of EBITDA in 2003 and was achieving record EBITDA margins. As a result, Prestolite was offered for sale and was sold in 2004 to First Atlantic Capital, Limited.

Wolverine Tube, Inc. (Genstar I)

Opportunity

In January 1991, Genstar acquired Wolverine Tube, Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama, from the private equity affiliate of Morgan Stanley. Wolverine was a leading manufacturer of copper and copper-alloy tubes used in high-value heat transfer applications as well as in construction. This investment is an example of our focus on the industrial technology area. With a strong management team in place, Wolverine had a foundation for growth, but insufficient capital resources and redundant operations in the United States and Canada stood in its way.

Strategy

Genstar and management created a strategy to capitalize on Wolverine’s market leadership and technical expertise. Within three months of acquiring Wolverine, management streamlined operations, enhanced quality and began pursuing growth opportunities through capacity expansion and acquisitions.

Result

Two years after the acquisition, Wolverine raised $50 million in an initial public offering to fund a new manufacturing facility and a key acquisition. Genstar sold approximately 25% of its ownership stake in the IPO. By 1995, Wolverine’s sales had increased 40 percent to $660 million and EBITDA earnings had tripled. Genstar liquidated its ownership by selling the remainder of its investment in a secondary offering in September 1995.