ILC Dover bought by N.Y. investment firm
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FREDERICA – ILC Dover Inc., a specialized engineering development and manufacturing company, has been acquired by a New York investment firm, according to a Feb. 3 announcement.
ILC Dover is a 73-year-old private company that makes high-performance flexible materials, serving the aerospace and defense, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and food and beverage industries. It is perhaps best known for making NASA astronauts’ space suits, as it outfitted every astronaut in the Apollo program, including the 12 who have walked on the moon.
The company headquartered in Frederica was previously owned by Behrman Capital, a private equity investment firm based in New York and San Francisco. Behrman acquired a majority stake in ILC Dover’s then-parent entity ILC Industries Inc. in 2003 in a $303 million deal.
Grant Behrman, managing partner of Behrman Capital, said in a statement that his firm was “very proud to have played an important role in its success during our investment period. Under our ownership, the company completed several strategic acquisitions, launched innovative products and entered new markets, among other important growth initiatives.”
ILC Dover will now be owned by New Mountain Capital, a New York City firm that currently manages private equity, public equity, and credit funds with over $20 billion in assets under management. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
ILC Dover famously outfitted the Apollo 11 astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin seen here, in their moon landing. | PHOTO COURTESY OF NASA
ILC Dover employs more than 700 people at six facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. As part of the transaction, ILC Dover’s CEO and senior management team will remain invested in the company, officials reported.
“New Mountain is the ideal partner for ILC Dover as we enter our next stage of growth,” said Fran DiNuzzo, CEO of ILC Dover, in a statement announcing the deal. “This is an exciting time in our history, and we are confident that New Mountain’s proven track record of business building, while closely supporting management teams through strategic engagement is a real differentiator. We look forward to this partnership and the many benefits it will yield for our customers, employees and industry partners globally.”
Andre Moura, managing director at New Mountain Capital, said his firm sees “valuable opportunities to expand ILC Dover’s leadership position in single-use solutions used in the bioproduction environment.”
“Led by a world-class team that brings decades of expertise in their target markets, we see many avenues for growth ahead, and look forward to providing the additional resources needed to help the company continue forward on its impressive trajectory,” he added in a statement.
Los Angeles-based Houlihan Lokey served as exclusive financial adviser and Latham & Watkins LLP, of Los Angeles, served as legal counsel to ILC Dover, according to officials.
By Jacob Owens
jowens@delawarebusinesstimes.com
