New York, NY, October 17, 2015 – Lightyear Capital LLC ("Lightyear"), a private equity firm, today announced that The Lightyear Fund, L.P. ("Fund I") has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Baker Tanks, Inc. ("Baker") from Code Hennessy & Simmons. Baker is the nation’s leading liquid and solid containment equipment rental and leasing company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to approval by regulatory authorities and is expected to close by year end.
Lightyear led a group of investors including the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a leading institutional investor in Canada, Goldman Sachs Mezzanine Partners III, who is also providing mezzanine financing, and Baker’s existing management team. CIBC World Markets Corp. and Goldman Sachs Credit Partners L.P. are arranging the bank financing.
Since pioneering the industry over 60 years ago, Baker has evolved to be the market leader in the attractive liquid and solid containment industry. Baker has enjoyed 12 consecutive years of revenue growth and the Company is well positioned to expand its market share within the highly fragmented and fast-growing $2 billion liquid and solid containment market.
"We believe Baker is a strong strategic investment for Lightyear," said Donald B. Marron, chairman and chief executive officer of Lightyear. "Our approach has been to invest in companies with leading market shares in attractive growth specialty areas. Baker, a leader in its specialty area, represents a great opportunity to partner with a talented management team to build on the Company’s impressive record of growth and innovation."
Baker provides liquid and solid containment rental and leasing solutions through its national network of 74 locations to a diverse customer base operating across numerous industries including industrial and environmental services, environmental remediation, oil and gas, construction, refinery, chemical, transportation and power. It maintains a diverse fleet of over 15,300 units, including steel tanks, polyethylene tanks, intermodal and roll-off boxes, pumps, filtration units, tank trailers and berms for use in a broad range of applications.
Mark F. Vassallo, managing director of Lightyear added, "The acquisition of Baker is a great addition to our portfolio of financial services companies in Fund I. The Company is our first investment in the equipment leasing sector and the leading brand within an attractive growth area. We are looking forward to working with the Baker team to continue to build the franchise."
Commenting on the transaction, Bryan Livingston, chief executive officer of Baker, said "We are excited to be working with Lightyear, which has a demonstrated track record of consistently building value for its portfolio companies. We feel confident that Lightyear’s value-added approach and focus on assisting us with our growth plans is ideal for our current situation."
Lightyear’s legal counsel is Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. Baker’s financial adviser is CIBC World Markets, with legal counsel from Schiff Hardin LLP.
About The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is a financial institution that manages funds primarily for public and private pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2004, it held CA$102.4 billion of net assets. The Caisse invests in the main financial markets as well as in private equity and real estate. The institution partners with dynamic companies in various sectors, offering them a full range of debt and equity financing products. As at December 31, 2004, the private equity portfolios held more than 600 investments in funds and companies, for CA$10.2 billion of net assets.
For more information, please visit
www.lacaisse.com.
About Lightyear Capital LLC
Lightyear Capital is a financial services-focused private equity firm based in New York. Lightyear, through its three affiliated private equity funds, has raised over $2.5 billion of capital and makes primarily control investments in North America-based, middle-market financial services companies. Lightyear targets investments across the financial services spectrum, including asset management, banks, brokerage, financial technology, insurance, and specialty finance. The firm brings unique strengths and discipline to its investment process, as well as operating, transaction, and strategic management experience, along with significant contacts and resources beyond capital. For more information, please visit
www.lycap.com.
