Arlington Capital Partners on Thursday said it has formed Keel Holdings, LLC
, a vertically integrated manufacturer of complect structures for defense programs that is designed to meet customer needs for more industrial base capacity.
Keel was formed through the merger of Pegasus Steel, which Arlington Capital acquired last June, and the new acquisitions of Metal Trades, LLC, and Merrill Technologies Group. The 700-employee company has more than one million square feet of manufacturing floor space across nine facilities in Michigan and South Carolina, which provides frontage to deep water for delivering large modules by barge to submarine and aircraft carrier customers, the private equity firm said.
Keel provides customers with capabilities in design, engineering, fabrication, machining, integration, assembly, finishing, and surface treatment.
Keel is led by Brian Carter, who was CEO of Charleston, S.C.-based Pegasus Steel. Keel will be headquartered in Charleston.
“Keel will play a pivotal role in delivering significant capability growth to the U.S. defense industrial base,” Carter said in a statement. “Our efficient and effective approach positions us to increase the speed of delivery and production for the country’s highest priority defense programs.”
Pegasus constructs foundations and components for aircraft carriers and submarine, and ground combat vehicle programs.
Merrill, based in Saginaw, Mich., serves the aerospace, defense, heavy equipment, space, and other industries. Some of the company’s customers include Boeing [BA], BAE Systems, Blue Origin, General Dynamics [GD], L3Harris Technologies [LHX], Lockheed Martin [LMT], Navistar [NAV], Northrop Grumman [NOC], RTX [RTX], and SpaceX.
Metal Trades, which is based near Charleston, performs overhaul work on Navy and Army vessels, heavy steel fabrication, construction of specialty vessels, and metal fabrication for power generation.
“Keel is supporting the steep production ramp of the Columbia and Virginia-class submarine programs by positioning itself to delivery turnkey structures and modules to its customers, empowering them to use valuable shipyard space more effectively,” Ben Ramundo, a principal at Arlington Capital, said in a statement.
Houlihan Lokey was the financial adviser to Keel and Arlington Capital on the transactions. Merrill’s financial adviser on the deal was Charter Capital Partners. Mensura Capital was Metal Trades’ financial adviser.