Lately private equity firms have been dominating the headlines with their acquisition prowess yet, despite that, D&L Parts has emerged onto the M&A landscape with a highly strategic deal of their own. We were happy to help D&L with this important transaction.
D&L Parts is a family-owned distributor of HVAC and appliance equipment and parts for customers across the vibrant mid-Atlantic and Southeast US markets. With several efficiency initiatives and internal technology improvements accomplished, D&L was ready to embark on a growth strategy, including acquisitions. Enter Cashwell, another family-owned appliance distributor serving customers in mostly adjacent markets in Virginia and the Carolinas. The ownership of Cashwell was ready to exit and was interested in a strong strategic player with a particular emphasis on culture and people. D&L hit the mark and then some with its approach and fit.
Strong Geographic Overlap
The geographic positioning of these two businesses was a very nice strategic match. With Cashwell, D&L strengthens its ability to service existing customers while offering a nice expansion opportunity in Virginia and down the coast. In addition, Cashwell offered D&L the opportunity to strengthen existing vendor relations and pickup new ones as well.
Uplift Role
We were honored to be a part of this historic step in the growth story of D&L. We developed an attractive engagement for D&L where we advised on all aspects of the acquisition, enabling the D&L team to put their focus entirely on the critical business and employee issues associated with the transaction. We got very involved in the details, including the diligence information, terms in the purchase agreement and keeping parties on track. In addition, we also teamed up with D&L’s legal team to iron out or mitigate any potential risks post-transaction.
With our help, D&L was able to keep their promise to the ownership of Cashwell to move quickly and get the transaction done in line with the spirit of the initial proposal. We expect this transaction will serve as the first in many future acquisitions for D&L. And once the integration of Cashwell is complete, we expect D&L to emerge as a buyer of choice to other family-owned distributors in adjacent geographies and an interesting alternative to the many PE-backed and larger public acquirers that generate more of the M&A headlines.
