Capitala Group Announces Investment in Freedom Electronics, LLC

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capitala Group (“Capitala”) announced today that it recently invested a combination of senior secured debt and equity totaling $24.5 million, alongside Summit Park, in Freedom Electronics, LLC (“Freedom” or the “Company”), a leading provider of aftermarket electronic components for use in fuel dispensing and point-of-sale systems.

“We are excited to have led the financing, and to partner with the teams at Freedom Electronics and Summit Park, to help the Company accelerate its development,” stated Joe Alala, III, Chairman & CEO of Capitala Group. “Freedom was ready to embark on their next chapter of growth and we believe they are well-positioned for future success.”

Based in Kennesaw, Georgia, the Company remanufactures and sells a portfolio of over 2,300 electronic components used in fuel dispensers, retail point-of-sale systems, and automatic tank gauges. Through the Company’s best-in-class repair procedures, sourcing capabilities, and engineering expertise, Freedom is a trusted partner to a national customer base, including retailers, parts distributors, and equipment service companies. In addition to its parts remanufacturing business, Freedom also provides a logistics and warehousing solution for customers’ electronic components inventory that minimizes downtime and ensures customers always have parts in stock.

Capitala’s investment, which closed late in the fourth quarter of 2018, will help fund the company’s next phase of growth.

About Capitala Group

Capitala Group is a $2.7 billion asset management firm that provides capital to lower and traditional middle market businesses throughout North America.  Capitala’s focuses on investing in debt securities with minority equity co-investments with less than $250 million in enterprise value through its permanent capital vehicles, Capitala Finance Corp. (Nasdaq:CPTA) and Capitala Specialty Lending Corp. (CSLC).  Capitala’s targets control and minority equity investments, typically coupled with credit investments, in lower middle market companies with less than $50 million in enterprise value through both SBIC (CapitalSouth SBIC Fund IV, L.P.) and non-SBIC closed-end funds.  Capitala Group has invested in over 150 companies since its inception in 1998 and seeks to partner with strong management teams to create value and achieve optimal outcomes for its investors.  For more information, visit our website at .

About Summit Park

Summit Park () is a Charlotte-based private equity firm focused exclusively on the lower middle market. We focus on investing in businesses with revenue between $20 to $100 million or EBITDA between $4 and $12 million. We review a variety of transactions in the business services, light manufacturing, and distribution industries with operations primarily based in the Eastern half of the U.S.

Contacts:

Steve Arnall

CFO | Investor Relations

 

Katina Jakubowski

Marketing | Communications

SOURCE: Capitala Finance Corp.