Charlesbank Capital Partners made an investment in Trojan Battery Company, a leading global manufacturer of deep-cycle lead acid batteries. Headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, CA, Trojan has been owned by the Godber family since its founding in 1925. The transaction, which was funded with both equity and debt, introduces the first outside equity for the company, with the management team making a notable co-investment and the Godber family maintaining a significant ownership position. GE Antares Capital provided the debt portion of the financing.
"Trojan sees diverse opportunities to continue to grow our business and increase market share with Charlesbank as our new partner," said Jeff Elder, president and chief executive o will be a valuable strategic resource as we move ahead in establishing our U.S.-based manufacturing facility for AGM batteries and our continued global expansion."
Trojan Battery is a global leader in energy storage solutions and the world's largest manufacturer of deep-cycle lead acid batteries in its target markets. Built on proven deep-cycle technology, Trojan batteries are designed to meet the complex energy storage requirements for numerous applications in the fleet golf, utility electric vehicle, aerial work platform, floor cleaning, renewable energy, backup power, recreational vehicle, material handling and transportation markets. The company's products are produced in state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in California and Georgia and are sold in more than 120 countries through Trojan's global network of over 50 distributors, as well as over 100 direct customers, including vehicle and equipment OEMs.
Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to Trojan Battery on the transaction and Vetus Partners acted as due diligence advisor to Charlesbank.
Trojan Battery Company is the world's leading manufacturer of deep-cycle batteries and a battery technology pioneer, having built batteries for the first electric golf car in 1952.
Based in Boston and New York, Charlesbank Capital Partners is a middle-market private equity investment firm managing more than $2 billion of capital. Charlesbank focuses on management-led buyouts and growth capital financings, typically investing $50 million to $150 million per transaction in companies with enterprise values of $100 million to $750 million.