SAGE AUTOMOTIVE INTERIORS ACQUIRED BY CLEARLAKE CAPITAL GROUP
SANTA MONICA, CA and GREENVILLE, SC – Clearlake Capital Group (Clearlake) and Sage Automotive Interiors (Sage) announced today that Clearlake has acquired Sage, the second largest automotive textile supplier in the world. Sage management invested alongside Clearlake in the transaction. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“This acquisition underscores Sage’s success and vision, and provides a stable platform to help drive our future growth, both domestically and globally,” said Dirk Pieper, Sage CEO. “Clearlake is an experienced investor in the automotive space, bringing valuable industry expertise and strong financial resources. We appreciate this vote of confidence in all that Sage has accomplished and in our future, and we look forward to working with the Clearlake team as we execute on our strategy.”
Sage will remain an independent entity, headquartered in Greenville, SC on the CUICAR campus. There are no plant location or personnel changes planned at this time. Recently, Sage has experienced rapid growth, almost doubling its employee count in the past five years, investing $25 million in its South Carolina operations over the past four years, and recently adding plants in China and Poland to enhance its worldwide footprint.
“With high quality products and its commitment to innovative design, Sage has built an impressive client list and experienced strong growth,” said José E. Feliciano, a founding partner at Clearlake. “We look forward to working with Sage’s talented management team and dedicated employees as we build on Sage’s plan and vision, with a continued focus on supplying the best products while also focusing on sustainability.”
Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Clearlake in the transaction. Nomura Securities International and XMS Capital Partners advised Sage on the transaction. Weil, Gotshal & Manges provided legal advice to Sage.
ABOUT SAGE AUTOMOTIVE INTERIORS
Sage Automotive Interiors (www.sageautomotiveinteriors.com) is one of the world’s leading providers of automotive bodycloth—seating, door panel surfaces, and headliners—to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Global offices and manufacturing locations include the U.S., Japan, China, Brazil, Korea, India and Europe. Sage enjoys core strengths in consumer research, sustainability and innovative problem solving for the OEM. Sage’s vision is to be the market leader in design, engineering and technical capability supported by world-class manufacturing.
ABOUT CLEARLAKE CAPITAL GROUP
Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is a private investment firm focused on special situations and private equity investments such as corporate divestitures, recapitalizations, buyouts, reorganizations, turnarounds and other equity investments. Clearlake seeks to partner with world-class management teams by providing patient, long-term capital and operational expertise to invest in dynamic businesses. Clearlake currently manages approximately $1.4 billion of equity capital, and Clearlake’s founding principals have led over 70 investments totaling more than $3 billion of capital in sectors including automotive, business services, consumer products/retail, defense/public safety, energy/power, industrials, and technology. More information is available at www.clearlakecapital.com.
CONTACT:
JoAnne Abed
Jackson Marketing Group
(864) 272-3014
[email protected]
Sidney Locke
Sage Automotive Interiors
(864) 630-8999
[email protected]
MEDIA CONTACTS:
FOR CLEARLAKE
Owen Blicksilver Public Relations, Inc.
Kristin Celauro, [email protected], (732) 433-5200
Jennifer Hurson, [email protected], (845) 507-0571
