Local marine and complex fabricator Vigor Industrial has been sold to an affiliate of the private equity firm Lone Star Funds, Vigor’s parent companies Carlyle and Stellex announced recently. Little change related to the sale is expected.
Vigor is a large employer locally, with about 110 staff in Vancouver. It has two facilities here that fabricate marine vessels and other defense vessels, in addition to complex fabrications like bridges and other infrastructure.
The Vancouver operation was chosen in 2019 to build a new generation of U.S. Army landing craft as part of an almost $1 billion contract. That prototype was launched in October and is now undergoing trials.
The sale was part of an agreement to sell the entirety of Titan Acquisition Holdings to Lone Star. Titan includes not just Vigor, which is based in Portland. It’s also comprised of MHI Holdings, a company specializing in ship repair maintenance and husbandry services that is based in Norfolk, Va., and Continental Maritime of San Diego.
In the announcement, Titan chief executive Jim Marcotuli said the company was grateful for Carlyle and Stellex enabling strategic investments over the years. He went on to say that Titan and its subsidiaries will remain rooted in its existing values and focused on its priorities: safety, compliance, quality, customer and competitiveness.
“Under new ownership, we will focus on sustaining improvements made, identifying additional areas of improvement and opportunities for future growth,” said Marcotuli.
The executive maintained that the companies would continue delivering high-quality service.
“We see this transaction with Lone Star, when completed, as the next step in our evolution, representing a belief on their part that Titan entities are on a steady and positive path to sustainable growth,” he added.
Among Titan’s other customers are the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, Boeing, cruise lines, fishing fleets, barges, ferry services for local and state governments and other commercial U.S. government customers.
The companies’ announcement did not disclose the financial terms of the sale. It did, however, say that the transaction was expected to close this year, pending satisfaction of closing conditions and certain government approvals.
The entirety of Vigor’s and Titan’s leadership, including Marcotuli, is expected to remain in place.
