WAZEE COMPANIES, LLC

In December 2008, Socius Capital led a generational recapitalization of Wazee Companies, LLC, a Denver based provider of electrical motor maintenance and related services. The company had been family owned since it inception in the 1920’s, and prior to our transaction, the son of the retired 100% shareholder had been running the company, and quite successfully. We backed the son in an acquisition of the company from his father, in which the son, who at the time had no ownership in the company, was able to secure a significant minority position in the recapitalized entity without any personal investment.

They also provide a broad range of motor maintenance services throughout the Rocky Mountain states, including field service and repair, motor sales, a motor shop for major rebuilds, replacement motor storage, and industrial electrical services. The company also had a separate division that manufactured and serviced overhead cranes. Even more compelling from an investment standpoint, was their recent entry into up-tower wind farm repair and maintenance of turbines and related services including gearbox oil changes.

We were attracted to the company by its in-place and proven management team, the reoccurring nature of their revenue stream, a highly diversified customer base with no concentration issues, a dominant competitive position in its market area, and the upside potential of their recent entry into the wind farm maintenance sector.

During the course of our ownership, we led the acquisition of a comparable business based in the Tri-Cities area along the Oregon/Washington border and serving the Pacific Northwest. This transaction effectively doubled the size of the business. In December 2012, we sold Wazee to The Timken Company, which resulted in a very favorable outcome for all investors including the management team.