DK2 is a leading manufacturer of snow plows for pickups, winches and automotive accessories. Amongst its brand is the well known Warrior Winch line of industrial grade recovery winches, flip racks, trailers and cargo carriers. With this acquisition, Ronin Equity Partners created North America’s leading diversified manufacturer of small- to medium-scale outdoor power equipment and utility trailers.
Ronin Equity Partners announces the creation, through three simultaneous acquisitions, of the leading North American diversified manufacturer of small- to medium-scale outdoor power equipment and utility trailers. The three merging firms focus on homeowners with more than five acres of land and on small-scale landscapers, ranchers, and farmers. Two of the businesses, DK2 and SnowBear, are based in Ontario, Canada and the third business, Currahee Trailers, is headquartered in Mount Airy, Georgia. The combined company will have over 50 years of operating experience in the industry. DK2 pioneered the combination of online ordering (via close partnerships with major home improvement chains like Home Depot and Lowe’s) with door-step delivery of previously difficult-to-package outdoor power equipment and utility trailers.
Ronin Equity Partners announces the creation, through three simultaneous acquisitions, of the leading North American diversified manufacturer of small- to medium-scale outdoor power equipment and utility trailers. The three merging firms focus on homeowners with more than five acres of land and on small-scale landscapers, ranchers, and farmers. Two of the businesses, DK2 and SnowBear, are based in Ontario, Canada and the third business, Currahee Trailers, is headquartered in Mount Airy, Georgia. The combined company will have over 50 years of operating experience in the industry. DK2 pioneered the combination of online ordering (via close partnerships with major home improvement chains like Home Depot and Lowe’s) with door-step delivery of previously difficult-to-package outdoor power equipment and utility trailers.
“These three firms are helping to create a new category of high-end consumers and small-scale professional users for outdoor power equipment and utility trailers. We see significant growth in this prosumer demand for years to come,” says David Feierstein, Managing Partner of Ronin. “We’ll combine the best of the companies’ manufacturing and delivery models, extend those capabilities to complementary equipment categories, and finance organic expansion and acquisition,” says Ronin Partner Tiffany Bell, who joins DK2 as Chief Financial Officer.
The group registers revenues in excess of $60 million and shows average annual sales growth over the past five years of 40-plus percent. Ronin has reserved more than $25 million to fund highly synergistic acquisitions for DK2 and is currently in discussions with several targets. More than 35 complementary businesses have been identified.
“This is more than just an investment,” says Steve Malizia, founder and CEO of DK2. “Ronin is bringing us back-office resources and scaling experience, while reinforcing operating muscle so that we can exceed our base potential as a combined group.” At the merged DK2, Malizia will serve as CEO, alongside new Chairman Doug Robinson, one of more than 30 Ronin Operating Advisors – a group that helps source transactions and advises on tactics and strategy. Over a 30-year career, Robinson served as CEO of multiple home improvement, appliance, and building materials companies. A former President of International Operations and Development for Lowe’s Companies – the world’s second largest home improvement company and a major distributor of DK2 products – Robinson headed the group’s e-commerce initiative, helping to build Lowe’s into a strong omni-channel retailer.
