Wildcat Equity Partners Acquires Fraser Industries, to Invest $350M in Wisconsin

U.S. investment firm Wildcat Equity Partners has agreed to acquire Fraser Industries, owner of Fraser Shipyards in Wisconsin, and announced it will invest $350 million to expand the business. The plan aims to triple the shipyard's output, expand its facilities and grow its workforce, with no layoffs.

The acquisition price was not disclosed, and the $350 million corresponds to the planned investment in the business rather than the purchase price. The deal is expected to close in about three months, with Patrick Kelly, co-owner and CEO of Fraser, remaining in his role along with his management team. The investment will be rolled out over five years and includes a 100,000-square-foot facility for small and mid-sized vessels, as well as another facility capable of building Great Lakes bulk carriers up to 1,000 feet in length.

Fraser Industries is a privately held maritime group based in Superior, Wisconsin, founded in 1888, which includes Fraser Shipyards, Lake Assault Boats, Northern Engineering and Fraser Terminal. The shipyard provides repair, maintenance, overhaul and newbuilding services for the Great Lakes merchant fleet, and will continue serving U.S. commercial and government clients, including the Navy and the Department of Homeland Security.

Fraser will maintain its partnership with Fincantieri Marine Group and Donjon Marine to compete for the construction of seven light icebreakers for the U.S. Coast Guard. In July, the company had already signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea's HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, part of HD Hyundai, to modernize the shipyard's design and incorporate robotics, automation, artificial intelligence, data systems and workforce training.

The deal comes shortly after Wildcat launched its Wildcat Defense unit on October 20, led by former Marine Corps officer Glenn Vogel as CEO, focused on shipbuilding, maritime infrastructure and defense. In September, the Wildcat Infrastructure arm had submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire Austal's U.S. operations, with an enterprise valuation of between $1.25 billion and $1.35 billion, which could lead to a bidding contest with Hanwha USA, which is also interested in Austal USA. Announcing the Fraser acquisition, Eric Nicolaides, Chairman and CEO of Wildcat Equity Partners, stated that there are no plans to cut jobs—quite the opposite—while Patrick Kelly noted that the company is ready to extend the turnaround steps applied at Fraser to the Wildcat platform.