Incline Equity Partners Invests in BCI Burke Company

SOURCE: BCI Burke Company LLC 

Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Fond du Lac, WI, Burke is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of commercial playground and leisure equipment.  The Company’s expansive product set is sold into multiple end markets including parks/recreation, school, housing/developer, and day care markets.  Burke is committed to inventing and Reinventing Play™, and to providing market differentiating support to its independent representative network.  

“I am honored to be a part of the Burke legacy, and its strong, respected brand name in the market”, said Former President and Chief Executive Officer, Tim Ahern.  “We chose Incline because they were best positioned to guide us through the first management transition while also driving sustainable, future growth.”  

“Through this transition, I will remain a part of the exceptional Burke team as an owner and member of the Board of Directors, and am eager to be an integral part of Burke’s growth strategies moving forward,” Ahern said.  

Mike Phelan, newly named Chief Executive Officer, added, “We are excited to leverage Incline’s experience to help Burke achieve its strategic growth initiatives in both existing and new markets. Partnering with Incline will enhance Burke’s ability to provide innovative, accessible play environments for children, families, and communities worldwide.”

Wali Bacdayan, Partner with Incline, said, “Burke has an impressive history with a proven ability to garner market share.  Our investment will build upon this foundation to further strengthen the company.”

This acquisition marks the second new platform investment for Incline, and tenth overall transaction in 2014.  Incline added new platform, Hartland Controls, a market leading supplier of electrical system components to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning market and other industrial end markets in February.  “2014 was an active, exciting year at Incline”, said Justin Bertram, Partner.  “We are pleased with our investment pace, and we are optimistic for similar activity in 2015.”     

About Incline Equity Partners
Incline Equity Partners, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a private equity firm focused on making investments in lower middle-market growth companies, focusing on companies with enterprise values of $30MM to $125MM across a variety of industry sectors including value-added distribution, specialized light manufacturing and business and industrial services. Typical investment types are management buyouts, ownership transitions for privately held businesses and corporate divestitures. Incline Equity Partners has experience with investing, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged finance, leveraged buyouts and growth capital.