Tonka Bay Announces the Sale of AST Bearings
Minnetonka, Minn. (November 1, 2013) – Tonka Bay Equity Partners (Tonka Bay) announced the sale of AST Bearings LLC (AST) to Motion Industries, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC). Based in Montville, New Jersey, AST is a value-added supplier of high precision bearings and related products.
Tonka Bay and the company’s management team acquired AST in November 2007 from Axsys Technologies, Inc. AST has experienced strong growth driven by a focused strategy, expanded technical capabilities, and a broadened product offering.
“AST was an opportunity for Tonka Bay to partner with a talented management team and leverage our experience in industrial distribution,” said Steve Soderling, a Principal with Tonka Bay Equity Partners. “AST is well-positioned to capitalize on compelling growth opportunities and will benefit from Motion Industries’ broad product offering and market position.”
BB&T Capital Markets served as the exclusive financial advisor to AST.
About AST
Based in Montville, New Jersey, AST is a value-added supplier of high precision bearings and related products. AST has developed a leading market position in miniature and instrument bearings by providing global sourcing and value-added services. AST’s website is www.astbearings.com.
About Tonka Bay Equity Partners
Based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Tonka Bay has been Building Bigger, Better Businesses® for over 25 years. Tonka Bay Equity Partners is a private equity firm that acquires and invests in growth-oriented businesses in the highly engineered manufacturing, business services and value-added distribution sectors. For more information, call (952) 345-2030 or visit tonkabayequity.com.