Skylark Private Equity Partners, an entrepreneur-centric lower middle market private equity firm, announced, in partnership with management, the formation of USA Automotive Partners, LLC (“USAAP”) and its acquisition Caldwell Automotive Partners (“CAP” or the “Company”), a leading upfitter and dealer of law enforcement and other vehicles for local, state, and federal government entities. Skylark’s investment will accelerate CAP’s growth through investments in facilities, talent, and product extensions.
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Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Caldwell, TX, CAP is a leading vehicle upfitter and the number one dealer in the United States for government vehicles. Led by its CEO, Zach Hester, and CFO Craig Oliver, CAP is one of the only law enforcement upfitters in the country that has the ability to complete 2,000+ upfits per year. CAP is poised to continue record growth with a new 128,000 square foot production facility opening in Caldwell, TX later this year, which will more than double its current upfit footprint. In conjunction with the transaction, USAAP acquired Cameron Country. This acquisition expanded the company’s product line to include Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram products, including the Dodge Charger Pursuit, the market leading sedan for law enforcement agencies across the country.
“CAP has consistently delivered high quality service to the specific and customized needs of our law enforcement customers. We have already begun to execute our plans to scale our capabilities and operations so that we can continue to meet the needs of the law enforcement agencies and government customers that serve all of us every day,” stated Mr. Hester. “Skylark brings significant operational resources and knowledge of how to dramatically scale companies like CAP which will allow us to continue to grow and provide the highest quality vehicle upfitting to our federal, state, and local customers.”
“CAP has proven itself to be an industry leader and we are excited about the growth opportunities as CAP expands its production capacity and customer base both in and outside of Texas” said Skylark Partner Marshall Viney. “Zach, Craig, and the entire CAP team have built tremendous relationships with law enforcement agencies and other government entities by providing exceptional customer service and leading upfit capabilities for their customers. We look forward to working alongside the CAP team to build upon this firm foundation.”
Skylark’s Managing Partner Hunter Peterson, Principal Chase Eckert, and Associate Danny McNamara worked alongside Mr. Viney on the transaction. Foley & Lardner, LLP and Mayer Brown LLP advised Skylark on the transaction and BMO Harris provided debt financing.