Crescent Capital tries to offload Brown Jordan

Los Angeles-based Crescent, which provides debt to public and private companies, hired the investment bank Moelis & Co earlier this year to sell the furniture company, four sources told sister website peHUB. The auction of Brown Jordan has not produced a buyer, the persons said.

One banker said the firm pitched the deal to several potential buyers but “no one cared.” It is unclear if the auction is still ongoing. Executives at Crescent and Brown Jordan did not return calls requesting comment.

Brown Jordan, of St. Augustine, Florida, makes luxury outdoor furniture including umbrellas, patio chairs and tables. The company produces $15 million to $20 million EBITDA, one of the sources said.

This isn’t the first time Brown Jordan has been up for sale. In 2008, Brown Jordan’s board hired Lazard to evaluate strategic alternatives for the company, including a possible sale, according to a statement from that time. The process apparently also did not produce a buyer.

Crescent Capital’s ownership of Brown Jordan is complicated. Trivest, the Miami buyout shop, acquired Brown Jordan in 2001 in a $100 million deal, Buyouts has reported.

A series of strategic acquisitions left Brown Jordan with a heavy debt load, according to a 2006 case study by the law firm Jenner & Block. In October 2006, Brown Jordan completed an out-of-court restructuring, which resulted in the financial company TCW Group obtaining control, a different source said. Other investors that reportedly increased their stakes include Stonehill Capital and Litespeed Capital. Trivest sold its interest and no longer owns a stake in Brown Jordan, said Troy Templeton, Trivest’s managing partner, in an emailed response to questions.

Four years later, in 2010, Crescent Capital split off from TCW. (Societe General sold TCW to The Carlyle Group in 2013.) Crescent retained the Brown Jordan stake, the source said. It is not clear if Stonehill and Litespeed still maintain investments in Brown Jordan.

Executives at TCW, Moelis and Litespeed declined comment. Stonehill could not immediately be reached for comment.

Luisa Beltran is a senior writer for peHUB.