Alexandria is a case where IOP’s top priority was to provide support to the existing management team as they aimed to bring specialized manufacturing operations to a higher level of efficiency.
Alexandria is an Ontario-based maker and distributor of wood moldings and related millwork, which they sell in residential housing markets in Canada and the northern U.S. They sell directly to retailers, as well as wholesale building product distributors and industrial companies.
Alexandria’s third-generation owners were seeking liquidity but wanted a partner that valued their existing management talent and shared their vision for the company’s trajectory.
We saw Alexandria as a well-run company with a reputation for focusing on their customers’ needs. We also saw how our specialized knowledge could improve some operating inefficiencies.
Alexandria’s owners were seeking liquidity but wanted a partner that shared their vision for the company’s trajectory
THE DEAL + OPERATING THESES
IOP partnered in its investment with Alexandria’s senior management team, including President & CEO Andre Cholette, a third-generation member of the family to lead the business. IOP Operating Principal Dave Mackin, whose background includes tenure as CEO of another IOP portfolio company, assumed the role of Chairman.
We worked together to outline a number of operating theses aimed at reducing costs and making opportunistic add-ons with compatible businesses.
THE PARTNERSHIP + RESULTS
Alexandria’s management team and IOP worked together to establish a number of initiatives aimed at improving the company’s operations:
In 2017, the company acquired House of Fara, a company that makes standard, decorative and embossed hardwood moldings as well as other specialty products. Alexandria and House of Fara had already worked together for over a decade, operating from adjacent facilities in LaPorte, Indiana.
In 2018, Alexandria’s management team and IOP concluded that the operational and growth objectives that we had jointly planned for IOP’s ownership period had been achieved, and that Alexandria’s continued growth would be enhanced by partnering with a well-positioned strategic buyer. Alexandria was acquired in October 2018 by U.S Lumber Group, a distributor of specialty building products in North America, and will continue to be led by Alexandria’s existing management team.
