TGF Takes Coraza Into Scotland –

Coraza Systems, the Dallas-based portfolio company of the Texas Growth Fund, this month closed its third acquisition of a complementary company and continued its international expansion with the purchase.

Coraza, which provides electromechanical products and services for the outsourced electronics industry, acquired Livingston, Scotland-based Livingston Precision Ltd. for an undisclosed amount. Coraza’s revenue, pro forma for the transaction, is in excess of $100 million.

TGF Management, the group responsible for the Texas Growth Fund, formed Coraza in June of 2000. After researching the outsourced electronics industry, the firm decided not to wait for a transaction to come along and founded Coraza from scratch with co-investors and fellow Texans, Hunt Capital and Four Corners Capital Partners.

The nascent company started with an acquisition of facilities in the southeast, expanded into California, then started greenfield facilities in the northern U.S. and in Mexico.

TGF Management became familiar with Livingston Precision through a similar customer. The two companies, Livingston and the much larger Coraza, formed an informal strategic relationship before jointly determining that becoming one would benefit them both.

“Livingston had similar customers complementary, but not an exact customer list and acquiring them represented an opportunity for ust to continue our international expansion,” said Antonio DiGesualdo, a TGF Management principal.

Coraza serves large OEMs that are multinational in operation, DiGesualdo said, but declined to provide customer names.

“A company that’s going to service those individuals adequately has to do it on a global basis,” he added.

Bankers Trust

DiGesualdo was not kidding when he said Coraza has solid support from its bankers. With debt from Bank of America and Harris Bank and Trust, Coraza has closed three acquisitions of companies (not including facilities) in the year since its formation. The two prior acquisitions included Qualified Metal Fabricators in North Carolina and Computer Cabinet Corp. in California.

TGF Management is currently investing its $450 million third fund.