Sabre Industries, Inc. has announced its acquisition of FWT. Based in Alvarado, Texas, Sabre is a producer of engineered structures used for electric transmission and distribution and wireless telecommunication, offering a complete range of engineered towers, poles, and related services. FWT is a Fort Worth, Texas-based manufacturer of steel structures for the electric transmission and distribution industry. Sabre is a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company, LLC, and FWT has been a portfolio company of Satori Capital.
The business combination strengthens Sabre's position in the transmission and distribution structures sector. FWT will operate as a subsidiary of Sabre and will continue to serve customers from its plants in Fort Worth and Hicksville, Ohio.
"FWT has a 56-year track record of providing outstanding quality and customer service, and we expect to continue serving our customers in the reliable manner that they deserve," said Fred Moore, FWT's Chief Executive Officer.
The business combination increases Kohlberg's commitment to the transmission and distribution structures industry. "Sabre, combined with FWT, is well positioned to serve growing long-term demand for electric transmission and distribution structures driven by an aging infrastructure, growth in renewable energy, and increasing demand for electricity," said Benjamin Mao, Partner at Kohlberg.
FWT has been a Satori Capital portfolio company since 2010.
BNP Paribas, SunTrust, Citizens Bank, Partners Group, and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company provided Sabre with fully committed credit facilities sufficient to close the transaction. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP acted as legal counsel to Sabre. Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor to FWT.
