Harris Williams & Co. Advises Transtar Holding Company in its Sale to Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, LLC

Harris Williams & Co. announces the sale of Transtar Holding Company (Transtar), a portfolio company of Linsalata Capital Partners (Linsalata), to Friedman Fleischer & Lowe (FFL). The transaction closed on December 21, 2010. Harris Williams & Co. acted as the exclusive advisor to Transtar. The transaction was led by John Neuner, Ned Valentine, Joe Conner and Lanre Osinusi from the firm’s Richmond office.

"We’ve really enjoyed the long term relationship we’ve had with Linsalata and the Transtar team and are excited to have been able to contribute to the continued growth of the business, having sold Axiom Technologies to Transtar in 2008. Management and Linsalata have done a tremendous job building a premier platform in the automotive aftermarket and we are excited to have found a great partner in FFL that is excited to support management as they continue to execute their growth strategy,” said John Neuner, a managing director at Harris Williams & Co.

Joe Conner, who leads Harris Williams & Co’s Transportation & Logistics Group, said, "The Transtar transaction marks another important milestone in the continued growth and expansion of our efforts in the transportation sector. In particular, the automotive aftermarket remains a core focus area for the Group as the Transtar transaction marks our seventh completed sell side assignment in the sector in the last twelve months alone. The compelling combination of the long-term growth fundamentals and the need-based dynamics of the industry continue to attract investor interest, which should continue for the foreseeable future.”

Transtar, headquartered in Cleveland, OH, is the premier integrated distributor of world-class driveline solutions, including complete transmission units, automatic and standard transmission rebuilder kits, hard and soft parts, electrical components, torque converters, transfer cases, and high performance engine parts, and a growing supplier of autobody refinishing solutions to the automotive repair industry. Since its founding in 1975, Transtar’s core strategy of providing OEM-level quality to the aftermarket has reshaped the landscape of the driveline aftermarket and allowed the company to grow substantially by continuously expanding its product offering, distribution footprint, and customer base.

Linsalata, located in the Cleveland, OH suburb of Mayfield Heights, was founded in 1984 and has combined its strong financial capabilities with extensive operational experience to accelerate the growth of middle market companies. In its more than 26 years of investing, the firm has completed 97 buy side transactions totaling more than $3 billion. Linsalata is currently investing in its sixth fund, Linsalata Capital Partners Fund V, L.P. (LinCap V), with $425 million in committed equity capital.

FFL is a San Francisco-based private equity firm with over $2.5 billion under management that is focused on investing in U.S. middle market companies. Formed in 1998, FFL’s strategy is to invest in market-leading companies that generate high returns on invested capital and that have strong, defensible competitive positions, attractive growth prospects and outstanding management. Previous investments include: Tempur-Pedic International, Discovery Foods, Milestone AV Technologies, Korn/Ferry International, and Guardian Home Care.

Harris Williams & Co. (www.harriswilliams.com), a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC), is the premier middle market advisor with a two-decade legacy of sell side excellence serving clients worldwide. The firm is focused exclusively on the middle market providing sell side and acquisition advisory, restructuring advisory, board advisory, private placements, and capital markets advisory services. Harris Williams & Co.'s Transportation & Logistics Group serves companies in a broad range of attractive niches, including the automotive and heavy-duty truck aftermarket, third-party logistics (3PL), rail products and services, airport and aviation services, and specialized transportation service providers. In addition to Transtar, other recent clients include marquee aftermarket names such as Meineke, Slime, Yakima, IDQ, WARN, FleetPride, and AAMCO Transmissions.

Investment banking services are provided by Harris Williams LLC, a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC, and Harris Williams & Co. Ltd, an Appointed Representative of Sturgeon Ventures LLP, which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Harris Williams & Co. is a trade name under which Harris Williams LLC and Harris Williams & Co. Ltd conduct business in the U.S. and Europe, respectively.

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