Monroe Credit Advisors placed an undisclosed amount of senior secured credit facilities for its client, Detroit Technologies, Inc. (DTI), to effect the acquisition of Formed Fiber Technologies, Inc. (FFT). The facilities were made up of a revolver and equipment lease provided by First Merit Business Capital, FFT’s incumbent lender. GemCap Lending also provided committed term debt to finance critical capital expenditures to support new business expansion for FFT.
Christopher Gentry, managing director of Monroe Credit Advisors, said, “Working closely with DTI’s senior management team and financial advisor, BBK, LTD., a leading business advisory and performance improvement firm, we were able to expedite closing of the debt facilities, which was critical to completing the acquisition.” Mark Gertzof, managing partner of the firm added, “We are particularly pleased with the urgency and resources put forth by First Merit and GemCap to get to the deal successfully closed.”
DTI is a Tier 1 automotive supplier that produces interior components and acoustic systems for a number of large volume, global automotive manufacturers and their well-known vehicle brands. DTI was recognized as Supplier of the Year by the Urban Wheel Awards and Decisive Magazine. DTI has been a recipient of the General Motors’ Supplier of the Year award for four consecutive years and a three-time recipient of Toyota’s Certificate of Achievement Award.
Steven Phillips, President & CEO of DTI said, “We hired Monroe Credit Advisors to manage an expedited process to secure the necessary debt capital we needed to purchase FFT. The transaction posed a number of challenges for our management team and transactional advisors, but with everyone working together we were successful in closing on the acquisition.”
With more than 766 employees, FFT is North America’s largest supplier of needle punched nonwoven fabrics and polyester staple fibers to OEMs and converters, primarily in the automotive industry. Headquartered in Auburn, ME, FFT operates plants in Sidney, OH and Sumter, SC, and is the only auto supplier that is vertically integrated from fiber to fabric to finished part.
Monroe Credit Advisors provides debt capital solutions to middle market companies and their investors through strategies built for today's dynamic credit markets. The firm advises on structuring and arranging credit through its relationships with a broad spectrum of debt providers including banks, commercial finance companies, debt investment funds and leasing companies. The firm’s experienced team of leveraged finance professionals approaches the market with a lender's perspective, delivering to its clients real time market intelligence and structuring expertise that results in significant savings of time and money, as well as increased certainty of execution.