NEED TO SELL?

Last month, Aurora Capital Group’s investment in Ames Taping Tools reached its seventh anniversary. Time to tape a ’for sale’ sign to it?

Based in Duluth, Ga., the company considers itself the “#1 designer manufacturer, marketer, and distributor” of automatic taping and finishing tools used by residential and commercial interior drywall contractors. They use the products to finish drywall joints prior to painting and wallpapering, according to Aurora Capital’s Web site. The company has a network of more than 170 rental outlets and employs more than 150 across North America.

Aurora Capital bought the company from Cortec Group in December 2005 secondary transaction for $287.5 million, $150 million of which was in equity, according to a January 2006 Corporate Financing Week report, which cited Aurora Capital CFO Fred Elsea (Elsea is no longer listed on Aurora Capital’s Web site). It’s unclear whether Aurora Capital has been able to generate a return on any of its capital.

The company appears to be getting back on its feet following the economic downturn. For a would-be buyer, a turnaround in the company’s fortunes would appear timely considering the housing market is showing consistent signs of are bound. That said, Aurora Capital might be looking to ride that rebound itself, depending on how its investment has worked out so far.

In March 2010, Ames emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after completing a financial restructuring. “Our company faced unprecedented challenges with the residential and commercial construction decline since 2006,” an executive with the company, Peter Alexander, said at the time, according to a report in Investment Weekly News.

The restructuring, Alexander added, “allowed Ames to emerge with a stronger balance sheet, enhanced liquidity, and a streamlined cost structure.”

Gerald Parsky, the Chairman of Aurora Capital, did not respond to efforts to reach him for comment.