Tailwind Capital Sells RANDYS Worldwide
New York – November 2022 – Tailwind Capital (“Tailwind”) has completed the sale of RANDYS Worldwide Automotive (“RANDYS” or the “Company”), a designer and asset-light national supplier of branded drivetrain, suspension, and undercar products to the vehicle aftermarket, to Greenbriar Equity Group, L.P. (“Greenbriar”). As part of the transaction, Tailwind will retain an equity stake in the company alongside Greenbriar and management. CEO Kevin Kaestner will continue to lead the business from its corporate headquarters located in Everett, WA. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1982, RANDYS is a national one-stop supplier of highly engineered branded drivetrain, suspension, and undercar products primarily for sport utility vehicles, trucks, and crossover-utility vehicles. The Company focuses on serving the vehicle aftermarket and provides its customers with high quality critical replacement products including differential, suspension, axle assembly, transfer case, alloy wheel, driveshaft, and transmission parts.
“We are grateful to our partners at Tailwind for their dedicated support and strategic guidance which have been instrumental in building RANDYS into the scaled platform it is today. As we look toward the future, we are thrilled to have selected Greenbriar as our partner for an exciting new chapter in our history,” said Kevin. “This new investment will enable us to provide an even more compelling value proposition to both our customers and suppliers through new technology solutions, expanded product development, and our ongoing commitment to unparalleled technical service.”
“RANDYS’ products are known in the industry to be best-in-class, and their products reflect the entire RANDYS team and organization. We have been extremely impressed by RANDYS’ ability to grow the business not only organically, but also through partnering with other leading companies” said Nick Cincotta, Principal at Tailwind Capital. “Tailwind appreciates the collaboration with the team over the last three-plus years and looks forward to remaining a partner and shareholder going forward.”
As part of the transaction, over 450 RANDYS employees will receive a cash pay-out from their equity participation units in the company. RANDYS is one of several Tailwind portfolio companies that launched the Tailwind Ownership Program, an equity participation program in which full-time employees are eligible to receive an economic interest in the company. The Tailwind Ownership Program provided employees with the opportunity to participate in and benefit from the growth of their company, while strengthening the culture of one team focused on the same core values.
The new investment by Greenbriar, and reinvestment by Tailwind, will support the senior management team in executing on RANDYS’ accelerated growth and expansion plans which include both organic and selective acquisition opportunities to enhance the Company’s national presence and provide even more comprehensive category solutions to its customers.
Baird and Piper Sandler served as financial advisors to Tailwind and RANDYS. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Greenbriar. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP served as legal counsel to Tailwind and RANDYS.
About RANDYS Worldwide
RANDYS is a national supplier of highly engineered branded vehicle drivetrain, undercar, and suspension products serving customers for more than 40 years. Its products are distributed through its strategically located distribution sites, serving all channels of the vehicle aftermarket through its family of industry-leading brands. For more information, please visit randysworldwide.com.
About Tailwind Capital
Tailwind Capital is a middle market private equity firm focused on services companies in three core subsectors – Infrastructure Services, Supply Chain and IT Services. Tailwind partners with management teams to Accelerate Change, our operationally intensive approach to value creation through investments in Talent, Technology and Transformative M&A. Since inception, Tailwind has invested approximately $4 billion in over 225 acquisitions, including over 50 platform companies and over 175 add-on acquisitions. For more information, please visit tailwind.com.