Lund International, a Portfolio Company of Highlander Partners, Merges with Truck Hero, Inc.
May 10, 2019 – Ann Arbor, MI – Truck Hero, Inc. (“Truck Hero” or the “Company”) today announced that Lund International Holding Company (“Lund”) has merged with and into the Company. Lund, based in Buford, Georgia, is a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of branded automotive accessories for a full assortment of passenger cars, light trucks, SUVs, CUVs and Jeeps, as well as the heavy truck category. The transaction terms were not disclosed.
“We are very excited to combine the two companies together to create one of the largest automotive accessory companies in the U.S.,” said Bill Reminder, President and CEO of Truck Hero, who will continue to lead the combined businesses. Lund is one of the automotive leaders in product offerings and brands in the accessories industry; which include AVS Ventvisors® and hood shields, AMP Powersteps®, Bushwacker fender flares, Roll-N-Lock tonneau covers, Lund nerf bars and running boards, among others. This transaction marks Truck Hero’s fifteenth acquisition since its formation in 2007 and is well aligned with the Company’s growth strategy of acquiring or merging businesses within the vehicle accessory market that further diversify its product portfolio into other attractive, complementary, high‐growth segments.
Mitch Fogle, current President and CEO of Lund, will become Chief Operating Officer of Truck and Jeep Accessories of the combined companies and the remaining Lund team will continue with the Company. Mr. Fogle stated, “We are extremely happy with this combination. Truck Hero is an outstanding company and combining our products and brands with theirs is the creation of the leader in almost all categories of truck, SUV and car accessories. We see significant opportunity to grow and be the one-stop shop for almost all automotive accessories.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Mitch, the Lund team and Highlander Partners to merge these two leaders in automotive accessories,” said Rich Zannino, a Managing Director at CCMP. “We believe that Mitch and his highly talented team can help assist Bill and the Truck Hero team to build an even stronger company.” Jeff L. Hull, President and CEO of Highlander Partners added, “We decided that the combination of Lund into Truck Hero was an outstanding opportunity to further enhance an already successful investment. We will still be a significant shareholder in the combined company and look forward to continuing our partnership with the Lund management and working alongside Bill and his team at Truck Hero, as well as CCMP, to continue to grow these businesses.”
About Truck Hero, Inc.
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI, Truck Hero provides consumers a full range of truck bed covers and other truck and Jeep accessories with market leading functionality, engineering, quality, and design. The breadth of Truck Hero’s product offering is vast, including: hard and soft truck bed covers, truck caps, bed liners, floor liners, steps, suspension kits, Jeep® parts and off-road accessories. Truck Hero’s industry leading family of brands includes Advantage, A.R.E., BAK, BedRug, Extang, Husky Liners, N-FAB, OmixADA, Retrax, Rugged Liner, Rugged Ridge, Superlift, TruXedo, UnderCover and an online retailer, RealTruck. All of the companies in the Truck Hero family are recognized as premier brands and are leaders in product innovation. For more information, please visit our website at www.truck-hero.com.
About Lund International
Lund International Holding Company is a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of branded automotive accessories for a full assortment of passenger cars, light trucks and Jeep, as well as the heavy truck category. Its products include Ventvisors®, hood shields, Powersteps®, floor mats, fender flares, tonneau covers, storage boxes, nerf bars and running boards, among others. Lund offers the industry’s broadest range of functional body and appearance products that provide customers with ways to customize and personalize their vehicles under the brand names of Lund, AVS, Belmor, AMP Research, Rampage, Bushwacker, Roll-N-Lock, TonnoPro and Stampede. For more information about Lund, please visit www.lundinternational.com.
About Highlander Partners, L.P.
Highlander is a Dallas-based private investment firm with approximately $2 billion of assets under management. The firm focuses on making investments in businesses in targeted industries in which the principals of the firm have significant operating and investing experience; including technology, basic manufacturing, food and beverage, chemicals, building materials, consumer products, and others. Highlander Partners implements a “buy and build” investment approach, creating value by helping companies grow both organically and through acquisitions. For more information, please visit www.highlander-partners.com.