Irving Place Capital to make over 3x on sale of Victor Technologies

The New York PE firm said February 12 it agreed to sell Victor Technologies to Colfax Corp. for $947 million cash, including debt. Victor Technologies makes and markets metal cutting and welding equipment products. In November, the company reported that third quarter net income rose nearly 94 percent to $10.3 million for the time period ended Sept. 30. Adjusted EBITDA was $24.5 million, according to a statement.

St. Louis-based Victor Technologies is the former Thermadyne Holdings Corp., which Irving Place Capital acquired in 2010 for about $422 million. Irving Place Capital committed to invest up to $197 million equity in the deal, according to SEC filings.

Irving Place Capital is expected to make more than 3x its investment with the sale of Victor Technologies, a source said. The deal is also generating an IRR north of 50 percent, the person said.

The Victor Technologies/Thermadyne investment came from Irving Place Capital’s third fund, which collected $2.7 billion in 2006.

Last year, LPs granted Irving Place a two-year extension until February 2015 to invest Fund III. It’s unclear when Irving Place Capital will kick off marketing for its fourth pool. Before it begins fundraising, the firm is trying to accumulate a few strong exits from Fund III to gain momentum, placement sources have told peHUB. In addition to Victor Technologies, the PE firm also exited Chesapeake last year; that was also a Fund III deal.

Performance data for Irving Place Capital Partners III LP was not immediately available. A spokesperson for Irving Place Capital declined to comment on the firm’s fundraising plans.

RBC Capital Markets and Blackstone Advisory Partners provided financial advice to Victor Technologies.

Luisa Beltran is a reporter for sister website peHUB and contributing editor to Buyouts