March 24, 2006
New Haven, Connecticut – March 24, 2006 – Woodbridge, LLC. is pleased to announce the acquisition of Oxford, Connecticut-based Macton Corporation by Peter G. McGonagle, a private investor. Mr. McGonagle purchased a majority interest in Macton from The Brynavon Group, a Philadelphia-based firm that holds interests in a number of middle market manufacturing companies; he also negotiated long-term arrangements with the current Macton management team, which will be retaining a minority interest in Macton. Mr. McGonagle will be joining the management team at Macton and will focus initially on Macton’s marketing efforts. The Macton Corporation, in business for over 55 years, designs, builds and installs turntable systems, lift systems and custom-engineered moving structures.
Woodbridge represented Mr. McGonagle in the transaction and worked closely with him to identify and acquire a manufacturing company in the Tri-state area that had both a solid track record of profitability and strong growth potential. “After identifying many excellent companies, assisting me in properly evaluating each of those opportunities and negotiating a letter of intent with Macton, Woodbridge continued to assist me right up until the deal was actually closed – more importantly, they were instrumental in keeping the deal on track through what turned out to be a much tougher process that I had originally expected,” said Mr. McGonagle.
Prior to seeking to acquire his own company, Mr. McGonagle held senior executive positions in Trilegiant Corporation, a large direct marketing company and Cendant Corporation, a multi-billion dollar global franchiser. With close to 20 years of financial, legal and operational experience, Mr. McGonagle offered potential sellers a seasoned executive with both strategic and hands-on management expertise.
Woodbridge executed a comprehensive search throughout the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut region for manufacturing companies that met Mr. McGonagle’s investment criteria. Nearly 2,000 companies were contacted, which resulted in more than 40 expressing serious interest – of those companies, the owners of more than 10 such companies met with Woodbridge and Mr. McGonagle to discuss a deal with him, out of which Woodbridge then developed a short list of five companies that were a close fit with his criteria.
“Macton is a perfect fit for Peter. His expertise, combined with the strength of the current management at Macton, will propel Macton to the next level of growth,” said Woodbridge Managing Director Robert F. Murphy.
Woodbridge, LLC., a unique, marketing-driven M&A firm, was founded in 1993 to provide divestiture and acquisition services to middle market companies.