A manufacturer of custom store fixtures, retail displays and audio-visual products, has been bought by a four-member management team. The Fenton-based, family-owned firm was purchased by Frank Grelle, president and chief executive officer; Allen Hustead, vice president- finance and administration; Richard Gilbert, vice president- product development, and Fred Epplin, vice president-manufacturing.
Financing for the buyout was provided by Horizon Partners Ltd., a private investment firm in Milwaukee that specializes in providing equity capital for leveraged buyouts. Horizon Partners invests in companies with significant growth prospects. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Multiplex, founded in 1903 by Louis Feldman Jr., has been headed by G. Randall Martin, Feldman's grandson, for the past two decades. Martin, 66, announced his retirement late last year and has been concentrating his efforts on the future of the company. "I always felt it was prudent to surround myself with talented people," Martin said in a prepared statement. "I also wanted managers who could continue to run the company successfully in my absence or if the owners decided that selling Multiplex better served our interests.
"As part of this, last year I appointed Frank Grelle to take over day-to- day operations as president and chief operating officer while I retained the responsibilities of chairman and CEO." Multiplex sales have tripled in the '90s, rising from $6.5 million in 1990 to a projected $20 million in 1996. Sales were $16.7 million in 1995. "Late last year, the board of directors decided the new ownership offered the best alternative to provide the company with the capital necessary to ensure Multiplex's continued growth," Martin said.
Martin retained Fister & Associates, a private investment banking firm based in St. Louis, to look for possible buyers for Multiplex. Fister identified Horizon Partners as the best investment partner. Horizon Partners' portfolio includes seven other companies, with annual sales of more than $250 million. Horizon Partners is also an investor in St. Louis-based Surface Systems Inc., a provider of weather information and electronic pavement monitoring systems. Boatmen's Bancshares also provided a loan and line of credit.
"Randy Martin deserves a great deal of credit for positioning Multiplex as an industry leader," Grelle said. "We are fortunate that he and the board of directors saw this as an opportunity to move the company even farther. Horizon Partners offers the best of all worlds by providing additional equity to achieve our objectives." "Plus, Horizon Partners is a good business partner," Grelle added. "As investors they do not interfere in day-to-day operations but support management in guiding their company's future. In short, Horizon affords Multiplex the capital to finance future expansion and acquisitions and an excellent network of investors who can lend their expertise in assessing critical strategic and operational decisions." Grelle, 47, said the company is already exploring acquiring other companies. "Our platform will be to become a much larger company," Grelle said. "We already are a metal and wood fabricator. Now we're looking at wire fabrication. Then we will have the three most significant capabilities in the industry. We will probably try to buy a wire fabricator.
"There is a good deal of consolidation in the industry we deal with," Grelle added. "It's necessary for us to grow or become vulnerable." Multiplex employs more than 150 people, most at the home office and plant in 40,000 square feet in Fenton. Major customers for custom store fixtures are Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target, Sears, New York Carpet World and Kmart. The company also makes point-of-purchase displays for floor covering manufacturers such as Harris-Tarkett, Harco, Robbins Flooring, Mannington and Karastan, as well as manufacturers including Emerson Electric, Anheuser- Busch and Cooper Automotive.