Cyprium Completes First Investment from SBIC Fund I
Cyprium Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, is pleased to announce a non-controlling investment in Washington Metal Fabricators to support a recapitalization of the company by House Rock Capital Partners, an Independent Sponsor. Cyprium invested debt and minority common equity in conjunction with another SBIC fund, the prior owner and a family office.
Cyprium recently supported House Rock Capital Partners’ recapitalization of Washington Metal Fabricators in Washington, Missouri. House Rock Capital Partners, a Midwest-based independent sponsor, is led by veteran investor Bobby Anderson and seasoned executive Gene Simon, who brings over 30 years of relevant industry experience and assumed the role of chief executive officer at close.
Washington Metal Fabricators is an ISO-certified, high precision contract metal fabricator offering an array of fabrication, assembly and engineering services. The company was founded in 1979 and serves original equipment manufacturers and related entities in the HVAC, electrical utility, medical and industrial end markets across the United States. The company was owned by Harley Meyer, a second-generation shareholder, who retired from the day-to-day operations of the company following the transaction and maintains an ownership interest in the company.
“From the moment we were introduced to this opportunity, my colleagues and I were thoroughly impressed by the level of expertise that Bobby and Gene brought to this transaction,” said Jeff Lakarosky, Principal at Cyprium. “Washington Metal Fabricators is a great example of a family’s commitment and a management team’s unwavering pursuit of quality products and customer care through their continued investment in facilities and equipment. We are excited to partner with House Rock, Mr. Meyer, the other investors and the management team as we enter this next chapter in the company’s history.”
“Over the course of my career, I have underwritten and managed debt and equity investments in privately-held companies,” recounted Bobby Anderson. “Thinking back to those transactions while raising capital to support our investment in Washington Metal Fabricators, I understood the importance of working with investors that have the flexibility to invest both debt and equity, focus on areas of importance in diligence and close in a timely manner. Our investor group did everything they said they would, and I’m excited about this partnership as we look to the next phase of WMF’s growth.”
While this transaction represents Cyprium’s 14th investment with an independent sponsor, it is the firm’s first investment from Cyprium SBIC I, which had a first close in late 2023.
About Cyprium Partners
Cyprium Partners is a private equity and mezzanine firm focused on non-controlling investments in profitable middle-market companies, allowing company owners and their management teams to retain a controlling interest in their businesses. Cyprium provides common equity, preferred stock, subordinated debt or any combination thereof, offering flexibility and increasing the certainty of close.
With offices in Cleveland, New York, and Chicago, the firm invests $5 million to $60 million per transaction in U.S. and Canadian companies with $4 million or more of EBITDA. Since its founding in 1998, the team has deployed over $1.9 billion in 101 platform investments throughout North America.