Wellspring Capital Management Sells Cleaver-Brooks To Harbour Group

NEW YORK, Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Wellspring Capital Management LLC ("Wellspring") today announced that it has sold its portfolio company Cleaver-Brooks, Inc. ("Cleaver-Brooks" or the "Company"), a leading provider of boiler room solutions, to Harbour Group.  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Since acquiring Cleaver-Brooks in June 2008, Wellspring and management worked closely to leverage the Company's position as a longstanding market leader with an unmatched distribution network and successfully execute the Company's strategy to optimize the value of its integrated product line. In 2011, Cleaver-Brooks acquired Cheminee Lining, a Montreal-based specialty designer and manufacturer of stack systems.

William F. Dawson, Jr., a Managing Partner of Wellspring, said, "Under our ownership, Cleaver-Brooks capitalized on attractive industry dynamics to significantly grow both organically and through strategic acquisition.  In particular, we worked with the Company's management team to expand product lines and to cater to the growing energy-efficiency and low-emission needs of the markets, as well as to significantly develop the high-margin aftermarket segment.  We thank Welch Goggins and his team for their outstanding efforts to enhance the value of Cleaver-Brooks for its customers and for our investors." 

John E. Morningstar, a Partner of Wellspring, said, "We recognized the potential at Cleaver-Brooks to further develop several market segments and aggressively pursue new sales opportunities.  We made significant progress by expanding product lines, implementing a sophisticated sales and marketing plan across the organization, and reducing costs through lean and procurement initiatives."

P. Welch Goggins, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Cleaver-Brooks, added,
"We were fortunate to have had Wellspring as a partner during these past five years. Wellspring's strategic and financial support during an extremely turbulent period for the economy provided us with the insight and stability we needed to meet our business objectives.  Thanks to Wellspring, we are well positioned to continue our expansion into new and growing markets."

Robert W. Baird & Co. and RBC Capital Markets, LLC served as financial advisors to Wellspring and Cleaver-Brooks with respect to the transaction, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel. 

About Wellspring Capital Management

Wellspring Capital Management, founded in 1995, is a leading middle-market private equity firm that manages more than $3 billion of private equity capital. The firm's objective is to bring partnership, experience and value creation to each investment. By teaming up with strong management, Wellspring is able to unlock underlying value and pursue new growth opportunities through strategic initiatives, operating improvements and add-on acquisitions. The firm functions as a strategic rather than tactical partner, providing management teams with top-line support, M&A experience and financial expertise, and access to resources. For additional information, please visit www.wellspringcapital.com.

About Cleaver-Brooks

Cleaver-Brooks, a world-renowned provider of boiler room products and systems, is committed to providing efficient solutions that help its customers and the industry reduce energy usage, cost and environmental impact. As the pioneer of packaged firetube and watertube boilers, Cleaver-Brooks is the only manufacturer in the world to offer an entirely integrated boiler room solution for any size application. Its products are backed by a world-class representative network offering superior aftermarket service and solutions.

SOURCE Wellspring Capital Management LLC