Lone Star Buys Shipyards Group Titan from Carlyle, Stellex Capital
Lone Star Funds has reached a del to buy U.S. shipbuilding and repair group Titan Acquisition Holdings from peer investment firms Carlyle and Stellex Capital Management. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Titan is comprised of Vigor Industrial LLC, an infrastructure, defense, and maritime services company based in Portland, Ore.; MHI Holdings LLC, a ship repair, maintenance, and other ship husbandry services company based in Norfolk, Va.; and Continental Maritime of San Diego (CMSD). Key Titan customers include the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, Boeing, cruise lines, fishing fleets, barges, ferry services for local and state governments, and other key commercial U.S. government customers.
The transaction is expected to close in 2023 upon satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including certain governmental approvals.
Jim Marcotuli will continue in his current role as Titan CEO, and other company leadership is expected to remain intact.
“We are grateful to Carlyle and Stellex for enabling the strategic investments made over the past several years, which include the acquisition of CMSD, the repurchase of critical assets, and investments in technologies and equipment aimed at improving our service offerings,” Marcotuli said.
“Under new ownership, we will focus on sustaining improvements made, identifying additional areas of improvement, and opportunities for future growth. Valued customers will continue to see Titan operating companies deliver high quality service in everything we do,” Marcotuli continued. “We see this transaction with Lone Star, when completed, as the next step in our evolution, representing a belief on their part that Titan entities are on a steady and positive path to sustainable growth.”
Derek Whang, managing director at Carlyle, said, “We are proud of the many accomplishments of the Titan team over the course of our partnership. Throughout a particularly unprecedented time, with the pandemic and supply chain constraints, the Titan team has continually executed on its strategy to successfully grow the business, refine its market segments, and expand into new geographic territories. Titan is well-positioned to maintain its positive trajectory, and we wish the team continued success in its next phase of growth.”
David Waxman, managing director, Stellex, said, “From the moment Stellex acquired MHI in 2015, we have partnered with management to capitalize on changing market dynamics to build a stronger company to further serve customers with quality and reliability. The result of our investment focus was the combination of MHI with Vigor and the formation in 2019 of Titan, now a bi-coastal leader in critical ship repair services, and commercial and defense-related fabrication services. It was an incredible experience working closely with the talented Titan team, and we look forward to seeing the company continue to prosper.”