The $100 million private equity fund created to invest in Michigan-based companies has completed its fundraising and now turns its attention to deploying the capital over the next few years. The Grand Rapids-based Auxo Michigan Opportunity Fund I LLC, launched in February 2021 with the backing of Doug and Maria DeVos’ family office, netted the $100 million from 76 investors, according to a federal regulatory filing. “The Michigan Opportunity Fund is all about helping Michigan-based businesses thrive and grow,” Doug DeVos, co-chairman of Ada-based Amway Corp., said in a statement to MiBiz. “We have a great group of Michigan-based investors who care deeply about the state and desire to see Michigan businesses prosper. We believe this fund is a unique opportunity for various Michigan-based industries, some seeking to grow and others looking to transition ownership.”
Maritime Partners, a maritime leasing and financing services company, has purchased M/G Transport Services from Auxo Investment Partners. M/G offers marine transportation services in the lower Mississippi River area and along the west canal to Houston, Texas. With over 300 dry cargo barges, M/G focuses on the movement of petroleum coke, sugar, barite and other materials. M/G will continue to operate under the M/G brand as a standalone entity and the members of the management team will continue in their current roles.
NEW ORLEANS – Auxo Investment Partners, a Michigan-based lower middle market private equity firm, has announced a successful exit from its investment in M/G Transport Services (M/G) through a sale to Maritime Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and completion of the acquisition followed HSR regulatory review Auxo said M/G flourished under its ownership. “Auxo partnered with M/G’s management team to foster a renewed growth orientation,” said a company spokesperson in a press release. “Leveraging Auxo’s value creation/portfolio company operations team, M/G made strategic investments in their barge fleet, developed advanced analytics to drive better insights into fleet utilization and spot market opportunities, and secured attractive new business wins in the company’s major trade lanes. What’s more, M/G’s management team invested alongside Auxo – and achieved significant financial returns – through their investments and participation in Auxo’s incentive stock ownership program.
Auxo Investment Partners said it completed a successful exit from its investment in M/G Transport Services through a sale to Maritime Partners, both based in Louisiana. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “This is an ideal outcome for all parties. Maritime Partners gets a great business with a strong management team, M/G’s management team gets a terrific new owner — an important consideration for us — and we at Auxo deliver an incredible return for our investors,” said Jeff Helminski, managing partner at Auxo.
Private equity firm Auxo Investment Partners has sold a New Orleans-based barge transportation company that it acquired five years ago. The sale of M/G Transport Services to Maritime Partners LLC, based in Metairie, La., marks a successful exit for the Grand Rapids-based Auxo, which acquired the company in November 2017 and made strategic investments in the company’s barge fleet, in analytics to improve fleet utilization, and in new business attraction efforts. M/G Transport Services operates a fleet of more than 300 barges on the lower Mississippi River and along the West Canal to Houston, Texas that transport petroleum coke, sugar, barite and other materials and commodities.
Grand Rapids-based Auxo Investment Partners last week said it acquired Columbia City, Indiana-based Breyden Products Inc., which will operate under the Precision Products Group (PPG) platform and brand that is part of Auxo’s portfolio. PPG is the parent company of Paramount Tube — a manufacturer of industrial tubing — as well as Euclid Medical Products. This is PPG’s first acquisition under the ownership of Auxo.