Harris Williams & Co., a middle market investment bank focused on the advisory needs of clients worldwide, announced the sale of Dent Wizard International (Dent Wizard), a portfolio company of H.I.G. Capital (H.I.G.), to Gridiron Capital, LLC (Gridiron Capital). Dent Wizard is a provider of cosmetic automotive reconditioning services in North America. Harris Williams & Co. acted as financial advisor to Dent Wizard. The transaction was led by Frank Mountcastle, Joe Conner and James O’Malley of Harris Williams & Co.’s Transportation & Logistics (T&L) Group and Chris Williams, Brent Spiller and Chip Duggins of Harris Williams & Co.’s Richmond office.
“Dent Wizard is a tremendous platform with an exceptional track record of market leadership and growth,” said Frank Mountcastle, a managing director at Harris Williams & Co. “It has been a pleasure working with Terry Koebbe, CEO of Dent Wizard, and his team to find a new partner who shares Dent Wizard’s vision for the future. We have a longstanding relationship with the H.I.G. team and are delighted to have represented them on this transaction.”
Headquartered in St. Louis, Dent Wizard offers comprehensive product and service offerings and operates throughout the U.S. and Canada. Dent Wizard provides its services to a diverse set of more than 5,000 customers including automotive dealerships, rental car companies, auctions, and insurers. The company has been in the development of Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) technology since its establishment in 1983, and today is North America’s leading provider of SMART Repairs (Small to Medium Area Repair Techniques), according to the company.
Dent Wizard provides on-site reconditioning services and products to the automotive industry through its relationships with dealerships, auto auctions, body shops, rental companies and insurance companies. Services include: PDR; minor paint; wheel repair; chip and scratch repair; bumper repair; headlight brightening; interior repair; locksmith services; exterior blackout; and hail damage repair. Dent Wizard offers multiple branded programs and service plans that are sold through the major profit centers of the dealership: F&I, pre-owned and service departments.
H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with more than $17 billion of equity capital under management (based on total capital commitments to funds managed by H.I.G. and its affiliates). Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Rio de Janeiro, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 200 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 80 companies with combined sales in excess of $30 billion.
Gridiron Capital, headquartered in New Canaan, Connecticut, is a private equity firm focused on creating value by acquiring and building middle market manufacturing, service and specialty consumer companies in the U.S. and Canada. Gridiron Capital’s principals work closely with management teams to develop strategies for portfolio companies, as well as providing resources to execute business plans and build industry-leading companies.
