Apex Tool Group (Crescent, Gearwrench) has Been Sold

Apex Tool Group, owners of Crescent, Geawrench, Weller, Cleco, and other recognizable tool brands, announced a change in ownership that will take place as part of a debt refinancing plan.

In a letter to their suppliers, Apex Tool Group says that there will be a change in ownership, from Bain Capital to a group of existing lenders.

The transition is expected to take place by the end of year, pending regulatory approval.

ATG says that the new owners will be “led by” TPG Angelo Gordon, a credit and real estate investing platform, and American Industrial Partners (AIP), an operationally oriented private equity firm that ATG says is “focused on buying and improving industrial businesses.”

It sounds to me like Bain Capital, which acquired Apex Tool Group in 2012, sold off the entire collection of tool brands to some of its lenders, rather than paying off their debt.

There were news reports a few years ago about Bain Capital trying and failing to sell the Apex Tool Group – see Bain Capital Tried to Sell Apex Tool Group (Gearwrench and Crescent).

Additional details are not yet available, and it is unclear what the change in ownership will mean for Crescent, Gearwrench, and the other tool brands under Apex Tool Groups’ corporate umbrella.

What’s ironic is that Gearwrench positioned itself as offering “more [tool] set, less debt” compared to tool truck brands, such as Snap-on.

I asked our PR contact for more info, but have not yet heard back.