Holley, The Largest Performance Automotive Aftermarket Platform, To Become Public Company
Holley is going public! Holley will continue to bring innovation and provide inspiration to performance automotive enthusiasts, solidifying its position as the market leader in a large and attractive performance aftermarket category.
Investor Overview
Holley is a leading designer, marketer, and manufacturer of high-performance automotive aftermarket products for car and truck enthusiasts. Holley offers the largest portfolio of iconic brands that deliver innovation and inspiration to a large and diverse community of millions of avid automotive enthusiasts who are passionate about the performance and the personalization of their classic and modern cars. Holley has disrupted the performance aftermarket category by putting the enthusiast consumer first, developing innovative new products, and building a robust M&A process that has added meaningful scale and diversity to its platform.
Public Announcement
Download the Public Announcement (PDF)
HOLLEY, THE LARGEST PERFORMANCE AUTOMOTIVE AFTERMARKET PLATFORM, TO BECOME PUBLIC COMPANY
Holley and Special Purpose Acquisition Company Empower Ltd. (NYSE: EMPW) to Merge
Transaction financed through $250 million of cash held in Empower’s trust account, a $50
million Forward Purchase Agreement from MidOcean Fund V, and a $240 million PIPE,
which includes investments by Wells Capital Management, Inc. and Wasatch Global Investors
Transaction Values Holley at an Enterprise Value of Approximately $1.55 Billion
Investor Call Scheduled for Today at 9:00 AM EST
BOWLING GREEN, KY – March 12, 2021 – Holley, the largest and fastest growing platform in the enthusiast branded performance automotive aftermarket category (“Holley” or the “Company”), and Empower Ltd. (NYSE: EMPW) (“Empower”), a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company, announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement that will result in Holley becoming a publicly listed company on the NYSE under the new ticker symbol “HLLY”.
Empower’s management team is led by Matt Rubel, Chief Executive Officer and Graham Clempson, President. Holley is controlled by Sentinel Capital Partners, L.L.C. ("Sentinel"), one of the nation’s leading midmarket private equity firms, who will remain the Company’s largest shareholder upon closing. Holley’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Tom Tomlinson, and the current management team will continue to lead the combined company, while Mr. Rubel is expected to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Founded in 1903, Holley is a leading designer, marketer, and manufacturer of high performance automotive aftermarket products, featuring the largest portfolio of iconic brands serving car and truck enthusiasts. Holley’s brands are woven into the fabric of car culture in the United States, covering electronic fuel injection (Holley EFI), electronic tuning (APR, DiabloSport, Edge and Superchips), electronic ignition (MSD and ACCEL), carburetion (Holley), exhaust (Flowmaster and Hooker), safety (Simpson and Stilo) and other product categories. Holley’s omni-channel go-to-market strategy reaches enthusiasts wherever they choose to shop, including high-growth direct-to-consumer and e-commerce channels.
Holley’s net sales are estimated at $583 million for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2020, representing year-over-year growth of more than 25% and fueling solid estimated pro forma EBITDA margins of over 25% and strong free cash flow.
“Holley was built by automotive enthusiasts for automotive enthusiasts, a passionate and active market that spends on the products that they love. Today’s announcement marks the beginning of the next chapter of Holley’s journey to fuel our customers’ automotive passion,” said Mr. Tomlinson. “We’re excited to team up with Empower to deliver on our mission to bring innovation and inspiration to automotive enthusiasts. With our flexible capital structure, we expect to accelerate growth across existing products and channels, as well as continue to pursue attractive opportunities in adjacent categories, both organically through developing innovative new products and making strategic acquisitions.”
“We set out on this road to find a growing and forward-thinking consumer company to help bring public, and we found it in Holley. Tom and his team have built a true powerhouse of innovation, designed to serve their enthusiast customers,” said Mr. Rubel. “The performance automotive aftermarket is vibrant and growing, and enthusiasts of performance vehicles are amazingly engaged. Holley has become a leader in its digital and direct-to-consumer efforts, the fastest growing channels for the company. We’re also very excited about Holley’s emerging opportunities in connection with future technologies. Holley has the ability to grow organically and by making strategic acquisitions to broaden and diversify its market. We look forward to working with Tom and the Holley team and Sentinel to help drive Holley’s next phase of growth."
“We are enthusiastic about Holley’s future prospects and believe the Company will be able to execute its compelling growth plans as a public company,” said Jim Coady, a partner at Sentinel. “We have helped Holley to grow organically and through transformational acquisitions and are immensely proud of what we have achieved in our partnership with Holley’s hugely talented management team. We are excited to continue supporting Tom and his team while leveraging the experience of our new partners