Palladium Equity Partners Completes Sale of ABRA Auto Body & Glass

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Aug 29, 2014, 04:47 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Palladium Equity Partners, LLC (along with its affiliates, "Palladium"), a private investment firm with over $2.5 billion in assets under management, today announced it has completed the sale of ABRA Auto Body & Glass ("ABRA"), a leading national provider of vehicle damage repair services, to affiliates of Hellman & Friedman, LLC along with ABRA's senior management team.

ABRA is a recognized leader in collision repair, paintless dent removal, and auto glass repair and replacement. Following Palladium's investment in October 2011, ABRA expanded its repair center footprint from 110 centers in 12 states to 240 centers in 19 states and significantly grew revenue and EBITDA. During this three-year period, the number of ABRA employees more than doubled from approximately 1,455 to 3,300. The investment generated a 6.7x cash on cash return for Palladium.

"We are very proud of what we have accomplished in partnership with ABRA's exceptional management team," said Luis Zaldivar, a Managing Director of Palladium. "By delivering excellent outcomes for consumers and insurers, the company has solidified its position as an industry leader. We are thrilled to have completed the sale with such a positive outcome for the company, the management team and our investors."

Duane Rouse, ABRA's President and Chief Executive Officer, added, "Palladium has been an exceptional partner to ABRA and we thank them for all of their support. We are extremely pleased to have worked with Palladium, a firm with many years of experience helping companies grow. This partnership helped ABRA accelerate our national expansion plan and achieve an outstanding record of success in the past three years."

About Palladium Equity Partners, LLC

Palladium is a middle market private equity firm with over $2.5 billion in assets under management. Palladium seeks to acquire and grow companies in partnership with founders and experienced management teams, and focuses primarily on buyout equity investments in the range of $50 to $150 million. Since its founding in 1997, Palladium has invested over $1 billion of capital in more than 20 platform investments and over 50 add-on acquisitions. The principals of the firm have significant experience in financial services, business services, food, healthcare, industrial and media businesses, with a special focus on transitioning founder-owned businesses and investing in companies it believes will benefit from the growth in the U.S. Hispanic population. In April 2014, Palladium announced the final closing of Palladium Equity Partners IV, L.P. at $1.14 billion, significantly exceeding its target. Palladium is based in New York City. For more information, visit www.palladiumequity.com.

About ABRA Auto Body & Glass

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, ABRA is a recognized leader in collision repair, paintless dent removal, and auto glass repair and replacement with 191 company-owned vehicle damage repair centers and 49 franchised centers in 19 states. ABRA distinguishes itself by providing a solution that enables its insurance company partners to substantially improve customer satisfaction and drive policyholder retention, while simultaneously reducing repair costs and driving efficiencies in the claims management process. For more information about ABRA, visit www.abraauto.com.

Palladium Equity Partners
Todd Fogarty of Kekst and Company
212-521-4854
[email protected]

SOURCE Palladium Equity Partners, LLC