Beverly Hills Shop To Sell Pipe Fittings Co.

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners has agreed to sell Hackney Ladish, a portfolio company that makes steel pipe fittings used in the energy industry, to Precision Castparts Corp., a maker of metal components used in the aerospace and defense industry, according to a government filing, an investor in Levine Leichtman Capital and a release put out by Precision Castparts.

The Federal Trade Commission recently granted the parties early termination of antitrust review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. And Portland, Ore.-based Precision Castparts issued a press release Nov. 17 announcing the acquisition, which it expects to close sometime this month, though the release does not mention who the seller is. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

The company was still listed as a “current” investment on Levine Leichtman Capital’s Web site as of Dec. 9. Dwight Weber, a spokesman for Precision Castparts, said his company has done a number of deals in recent months and that “A lot of times with these deals the seller doesn’t want to be identified,” though he wasn’t sure if Levine Leichtman Capital requested its name not be released. Officials at Levine Leichtman Capital and Hackney Ladish did not return calls and e-mails requesting comment.

The limited partner, who asked to not be identified, declined comment other than to say the investment was “hugely successful.”

The Beverly Hills-based shop bought Hackney Ladish in June 2006 and has invested $41.4 million in the company, according to the firm’s Web site. Hackney Ladish makes fittings used in natural gas and oil pipelines, refineries and petrochemical processing piping systems, among other elements of energy infrastructure. Founded more than 80 years ago, the Dallas-based company operates two manufacturing plants in Enid, Okla., and Russellville, Ark., with a total of 380,000 square feet of space.

The deal comes out of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners III LP, a $500 million fund raised in 2003. That fund as of June 30 has delivered a net IRR of 16.7 percent and an investment multiple of 1.30, according to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which committed $50 million.

Levine Leichtman Capital invests between $10 million and $75 million in mid-market companies with revenues between $50 million and $500 million. The firm also manages a distressed debt fund and a California-focused small-cap fund.

Arthur Levine and Lauren Leichtman founded the firm the firm more than 20 years ago; the firm now has 31 investment professionals.