Situation
MXL Industries, Inc. (“MXL”), founded in 1968 and headquartered in Lancaster, PA, is a highly regarded manufacturer and coater of specialty-crafted optical engineered thermoplastic parts to a wide-range of blue-chip customers for various military, aviation, motorsports, life safety, and athletic applications.

After initiating a buyout for MXL in 2008, the management and ownership team consisted of: Jim Eberle, President; Bryan Bess, Chief Financial Officer; Jude Krady, Chief People Officer; and Manny Rodriguez, Chief Sales Officer; along with a minority partner employed in the business.

Objective
Matrix was retained by MXL’s ownership group to initiate a sale process to provide Mr. Bess with a full liquidity event as he looked to retire and provide the rest of the team with the option of exiting their ownership.

Management also sought partnership that would provide the Company with capital for continued growth while retaining the strong culture the management team cultivated at MXL.

Solution
Matrix tailored a process to properly account for different liquidity solutions between strategic and private equity buyers which led to numerous indications of interest in the market.

Successfully negotiated with a private equity backed strategic buyer to acquire the business and related-party real estate and provide all of management with full liquidity at a premium valuation.