OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL – January 7, 2025 – Prairie Capital Advisors, Inc. (“Prairie”) is pleased to announce that Precision Abrasives, LLC (“Precision” or the “Company”), a portfolio company of Gioia Capital, has been acquired by SurfacePrep, a portfolio company of Nautic Partners, LLC. Prairie acted as exclusive financial advisor to Gioia Capital in this transaction and was led by John Waller of Prairie. Terms were not disclosed.

Precision manufactures, develops, imports and distributes abrasive materials and surface enhancement products, serving leading manufacturers and distributors across the United States. For more than 40 years, Precision has been delivering innovative abrasive products to over 1,000 customers each year.

SurfacePrep provides abrasive blasting media and abrasive finishing equipment to customers in North America and Western Europe. SurfacePrep operates the largest national network of regional distributors of high-quality abrasive products, specialty ceramics and surface finishing equipment. It also provides safety equipment, replacement parts, accessories and tools to support its customers’ production lines.

Nautic Partners, a preeminent middle-market private equity firm, invests in companies within three industry sectors: Healthcare, Industrials, and Services. Nautic has completed over 155 platform acquisitions since 1986.

Rich Gioia, Managing Partner at Gioia, stated, “The management team at Precision built an excellent business by serving demanding customers with high quality products and responsive services. I look forward to seeing Precision contribute to the continued growth of SurfacePrep.” He continued, “The professionalism and expertise of the team at Prairie were instrumental in navigating the transaction process. Their ability to organize and direct the team at Precision and their knowledge of the abrasive products market allowed for an efficient closing. We would not have completed this transaction without the help of Prairie.”

John Waller, Managing Director at Prairie, stated, “This is our second transaction in the abrasives industry in a relatively short time, and both of those businesses were sold to SurfacePrep. We were thrilled to continue to work in this industry, and especially with Rich Gioia and the team at Precision. The team at SurfacePrep and their advisors were once again consummate professionals.” Waller continued, “This transaction represents another successfully completed engagement for Prairie’s Investment Banking team within the industrials segment. Additionally, in nearly all our transactions in the past few years, we have either represented a private equity firm or sold the company to a private equity firm. This highlights our expanding involvement in the private equity community, complementing our work with founder-led businesses, ESOP-owned companies and corporate divestitures.”

About Prairie Capital Advisors

Prairie is a leading financial advisory firm specializing in creating and executing ownership transition strategies for middle-market companies nationwide. In 2024, Prairie was awarded the Corporate Fairness Opinion Provider of the Year by M&A Atlas. For more information, visit www.prairiecap.com.