Prophet Equity LP Acquires Cummings Incorporated;
Launches Cummings Resources LLC;
Headquarters To Remain In Nashville, TN
Manufacturing To Continue At Dothan, AL & Riverside, CA Plants
Nashville, TN - May 09, 2011 – Prophet Equity LP has announced its acquisition of the business of Cummings Incorporated, The International Sign Service through its affiliate, Cummings Resources LLC (“Cummings Signs”). Cummings Signs acquired the assets through a UCC Article 9 foreclosure sale.
“This transaction, along with fresh liquidity, will allow the new entity to leverage a 65-year reputation of being an innovator in the sign industry”, Ross Gatlin, CEO of Cummings Resources LLC and Prophet Equity’s CEO and Managing Partner explained. “Cummings Signs is now positioned to regain a leading position in the sign manufacturing industry and drive additional growth through its turn-key project management of retail reimaging projects.
“After months of searching for a solution to solve Cummings Incorporated’s debt and working capital challenges, Prophet Equity provided the best recovery to the senior secured lender, while also providing the liquidity for the new business to grow,” explained Steve Kerr, former President and CEO of Cummings Incorporated. “Prophet Equity’s collaborative approach with management to improving performance combined with Cummings Incorporated’s history of manufacturing top quality products and managing turnkey projects is an ideal combination for Cummings Signs at this time.”
As part of the transaction, Steve Kerr and Jim Murray have agreed to stay on and participate with the new management team.
Cummings Signs will be headquartered in Nashville, TN and will manufacture products out of its Dothan, Alabama and Riverside, California locations.
“Cummings Incorporated had a very strong and loyal employee base, and we are excited to hire the approximately 200 employees at the newly formed entity,” commented George Stelling, COO of Cummings Resources LLC and Prophet Equity’s COO and Managing Director. “Prophet Equity’s strategic and operational toolkit will help the employee base improve performance going forward.”
About Cummings Signs
Cummings Signs is a leading turn-key supplier of made-to-order on premise illuminated signs and other reimaging elements for national account customers in industries that include hospitality, automotive, petroleum, retail, and financial services. The company focuses on large scale national accounts and manages the entire reimaging process at each customer location, including design, engineering, manufacturing and installation of on-premise signs and exterior building elements. For more information, contact us at (800) 489-7446.
About Prophet Equity LP
Prophet Equity LP is a private equity firm that uses proven, data-driven analytical techniques coupled with over 100 years of investment and management experience to invest in, unlock and realize future value today. Partnering with owners and management teams, Prophet Equity’s team utilizes a toolkit that is Fortune 500 tested and private equity proven to diagnose and drive dramatic value creation. Portfolio company management teams are highly motivated with clear, uncapped incentives based on realized business performance.
Over the last decade alone, Prophet Equity’s Principals have invested and managed approximately $400 million of control equity in over 30 entities with over $4 billion in revenue. Their control equity investments focus on lower and middle market companies with strategically strong businesses with significant value creation potential, such as those found in partnerships, corporate carve outs, divestitures and non-strategic businesses of larger companies. Representative business situations include special situations, succession planning, recapitalizations, reorganizations, turnarounds, acquisitions, mergers and bankruptcies. For more information, please visit www.prophetequity.com or call us at +1.817.898.1500.
CUMMINGS INCORPORATED TO EXPAND DOTHAN, ALABAMA MANUFACTURING PLANT
Dec. 3, 2008 -- Mr. Stephen R. Kerr, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cummings Incorporated, announced today a major expansion of the Company’s Dothan, Alabama facility. Mr. Kerr stated the addition of approximately 100,000 square feet would allow Cummings to combine its Fort Deposit and Dothan, Alabama facilities into one campus in Dothan.
“This combination will allow Cummings to better serve its customers through reduced product handling, consolidation of freight and lower overall manufacturing cost,” Mr. Kerr emphasized. He said the expansion would begin immediately with completion targeted for March 2009.
Larry Miller, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing for Cummings, said the consolidation of the two factories that are 90-miles apart will significantly improve operating efficiency. He stated that all 50 employees at the Company’s Fort Deposit, Alabama factory would be offered “very attractive packages to stay employed with Cummings and relocate to Dothan.” The packages include pay increases, transition bonuses and moving allowances. With the combination of relocated and new employees the company expects to add 100 new jobs in Dothan during 2009.
Mr. Kerr thanked the Dothan area Chamber of Commerce, Industrial Board of the City of Dothan, City of Dothan, the officials of Houston and Dale Counties, and Dothan Warehouse for assisting with the expansion and personnel support. We appreciate the assistance provided by all of theses community leaders and we look forward to our continual growth and success.
Mr. Kerr went on to say that the change in the Company’s manufacturing strategy “was prompted by the need to better align us with our national customers needs. To that end, a component of this consolidation will be the expansion of our manufacturing operations in southern California. As a result of these activities, Cummings will remain one of the industry’s largest and most automated sign, channel letter and branded building element manufacturers in the United States.
” In closing Mr. Kerr thanked all of the employees and the families of the Cummings’ Fort Deposit manufacturing facility for their years of service and for their many successes. He noted, since 1996 the Fort Deposit factory had produced and shipped over $200-million dollars worth of sign product and that they should all be proud of such an accomplishment.
Cummings Incorporated is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Nashville-based Brentwood Capital Advisors LLC was exclusive financial advisor to Cummings in the transaction.
Cummings, which generated revenue of approximately $82 million during the past 12 months, will use the securities to refinance its existing indebtedness and to fund continued growth.
“The company is doing very well,” said Tom Wylly, senior partner with Brentwood Capital, adding that this is a good time for them to refinance.
The 58-year-old Cummings Signs designs, engineers, manufactures, installs and maintains a wide range of corporate imaging products including signage, architectural treatments, electronic message boards and ATM kiosks.
It provides fully integrated branding services and manages the requirements of major corporations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, including Bank of America, Burger King, Chase Bank, Chevron, CVS Pharmacy, Marriott and Yum! brands.
Brentwood Capital Advisors LLC, founded in 1999, is a privately held investment bank providing mergers and acquisition and capital raising advice to middle-market health care and business services companies.
CapitalSource is a specialized commercial finance company based in Chevy Chase, Md. It has offices across the country, including one in Nashville.
CUMMINGS
SIGNS ACQUIRES COLLINS SIGNS, INC.
COMBINATION WILL TOTAL $100 MILLION REVENUES
NASHVILLE, TN., MAY 9, 2003 - Cummings Signs today announced it has purchased selected assets of Collins Sign, Inc. of Dothan, Alabama and said the combination will result in total revenues of approximately $100 million.
The combined companies, which will operate as Cummings Signs and be headquartered in Nashville, will be among the top three largest in the sign industry nation-wide. The client roster will include more than 60 of the country's best-known national brands.
The combined companies will employ more than 600 people in 8 locations in Tennessee, Alabama, California, Texas, and Kentucky.
Cummings President and CEO Stephen R. Kerr and Collins Signs, Inc. Chairman and Founder John Collins jointly made the announcement and termed the deal "a combination with tremendous synergy, including a greatly enhanced capability in engineering, manufacturing and project management to benefit our customers."
Collins will remain as vice-chairman and will focus on national account sales and service.
Kerr said, "John Collins has built a fine operation over the past 28 years. They had encountered some economy-related difficulties which caused us to explore this opportunity, however, this is a fine company with great employees and an excellent reputation for quality products. We're delighted to be a part of its return to full operation."
"Importantly," Kerr said, "The combination results in a stronger financial capacity and we have achieved a refinancing that provides excellent liquidity from day one."
Collins said, "This combination makes a lot of sense for us because Cummings brings expertise in sales and marketing as well as an administrative structure that will allow us to better deploy our capabilities. They are structured very similar to us and also have a solid manufacturing capability. There are synergies with the two companies that just make a lot of sense and the customer base of both operations will benefit."
"Simply put," Kerr said, "there isn't any national brand signage program the combined companies can't do and do well. Particularly exciting is the opportunity to combine two of the industry's most advanced web and electronic based systems, including three-dimensional "look-in" work site capabilities."
"The Collins operation is particularly noted for it's innovation and quality in engineering and manufacturing," Kerr said, "and we expect to benefit from those capabilities and expertise."
Collins Signs, Inc. provides signage on a regional and national basis for more than 30 major brands, including Burger King, Marriott, Hilton, BP/Amoco, Saab, Mitsubishi, Arby's, Citibank, Dairy Queen and Liberty Mutual Insurance among others.
Cummings' 30-plus national brand customers include Chrysler, Chevron, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's, A&W, Church's Chicken, Fleet Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, CVS Pharmacy and Family Dollar.
Thomas L. Cummings, Jr., founded Cummings Signs in Nashville in 1946. The company launched a national presence as the first to produce and install the original Holiday Inns of America signage. That success was followed in the late sixties with participation in the massive dealership identity programs for Ford Motor Company and General Motors.
In 1998, Kerr and Stephen Lynn, who serves as Chairman, purchased majority interest in the company, with the Cummings family maintaining a minority ownership. Tom Cummings, III, continues as part of the senior management team. Lynn and Kerr had previously partnered in business in Oklahoma City where both were involved in corporate and civic leadership.
At the time of the purchase, the new owners announced a growth strategy that would include acquisition and expansion within the industry. The Collins Sign purchase is the third step in that strategy, following purchase in 1999 of Industrial Machining and Signs, a channel letter manufacturer in Knoxville and the establishment in 2000 of Cummings West, a production facility in Riverside, California.
John Collins had been the sole owner of Collins Signs, Inc. since its founding
in 1974. The company operates manufacturing facilities totaling 375,000 square
feet. Its emphasis on engineering and technology has helped the company establish
a reputation as the most automated sign manufacturer in the world. It is
a major producer of channel letters for signage and specializes in turnkey
programs for national customers.
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