ACG Cleveland to Salute Northeast Ohio’s Top Deal Makers at 14th Annual Deal Maker Awards Dinner
CLEVELAND--ACG Cleveland, Ohio’s preeminent organization for middle-market merger & acquisition and corporate growth professionals, will recognize the winners of the 14th Annual ACG Cleveland Deal Maker Awards to be held on the evening of Thursday, January 21, 2010. The event will take place in the main ballroom at the Cleveland Marriott at Key Center. The Deal Maker Awards annually recognize Northeast Ohio’s deal makers who have demonstrated success in using acquisitions, divestitures, financings and other transactions to fuel growth. The 2010 Deal Maker Awards winners are:
TransDigm Group Incorporated
Since its formation in 1993, this Cleveland-based global designer, producer and supplier of highly engineered aircraft components has grown sales from $48 million to $762 million today. During that time, TransDigm has made 27 strategic acquisitions, including five since September 2008, despite the challenging economic and deal-making environment. Acquisitions account for about half of the company’s growth. In October 2009, TransDigm completed a successful $425 million notes offering which facilitated a special cash dividend to its stockholders of $7.65 per share. TransDigm’s success has not gone unnoticed. Fortune magazine recently recognized TransDigm as No. 51 on its 2009 list of the 100 Fastest Growing Companies in America, and Forbes ranked TransDigm No. 25 on its 2009 list of the Best Mid Cap Stocks in America.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.
Cliffs Natural Resources is an international mining and natural resources company whose Cleveland roots go back to 1847. Following a series of strategic transactions beginning in 2002, Cliffs emerged as the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America, a major supplier of iron ore out of Australia, and a significant producer of metallurgical coal. Cliffs has actively executed a strategy designed to achieve scale in the mining industry, focusing on serving the world’s largest and fastest-growing steel markets. Over the last two years this has included more than $1 billion in deals. Most recently, Cliffs announced a successful $240 million contested bid to acquire Canadian chromite explorer Freewest Resources Canada Inc.
Dealer Tire, LLC
Formed in the early 1990s to address the tire needs of automotive dealers, Dealer Tire’s foundation rests on more than 80 years of success in tire retailing as Mueller Tire and Brake. In 2000, the Mueller family divested the retail operation in order to focus on servicing automotive OEMs and their dealers. From 2004 to 2008, Dealer Tire grew 229%. Today, the company is the number one supplier of tires and wheels to U.S. automotive dealers and has programs in place with key OEMs such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus, Toyota, Kia, Chrysler and numerous other automakers. In 2009, Dealer Tire entered into a minority recapitalization of the company with the Boston-based private equity firm TA Associates. The transaction provided liquidity to existing investors and expanded debt facility for future growth and acquisitions.
About ACG and ACG Cleveland
The Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) is the global community for middle market M&A dealmakers and business leaders focused on driving growth. ACG members have access to data, content and networking tools to find the opportunities, capital and knowledge needed to facilitate and sustain corporate growth. Founded in 1954, ACG has grown to more than 12,000 members organized in 54 chapters throughout North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.acg.org.
ACG Cleveland has more than 430 members and is the fifth largest ACG chapter in the country. The chapter celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2006. The chapter’s annual Deal Maker Awards event is one of 15 educational programs and other activities it sponsors each year. For more information, please visit www.acgcleveland.org