Somero: Ligchine’s PE Strategy

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What was the context of the business and the story behind the acquisition? Could you provide some context on Ligchine, where it was coming from, and the goals of the private equity and their strategy?

When the local founder and his uncle saw the opportunity, they decided to bring in private equity to finance the growth and cashed out a significant portion, keeping 28%. When I got involved, the first day the two private equity firms owned Ligchine, on August 1, 2018, we had a meeting. The firms, the president, and I were present, and they expressed that this deal had the best opportunity they had ever seen. Everyone was excited about Ligchine's potential.

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What was the context of the business and the story behind the acquisition? Could you provide some context on Ligchine, where it was coming from, and the goals of the private equity and their strategy?

However, when Somero saw private equity entering Ligchine, they realized they needed to improve. They started enhancing their customer service, training, and products, which slowed Ligchine's expected growth. Ligchine remains a small part of the overall market compared to where they anticipated being.

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Somero was quite dominant, and Ligchine was one of the first competitors to enter the market. Why was it so difficult to enter? Do they still hold a significant number of patents? How difficult is it to build something competitive that doesn't infringe on Somero's patents?

It's very difficult. We were discussing how Somero kept competitors out and how Ligchine managed to enter the market. There are only limited ways to execute laser-guided screed technology, which uses laser controls to ensure precise height. As I mentioned, Ligchine allows you to walk alongside it with a joystick, and the laser-guided component is at the head. In contrast, Somero's model is ride-on, with the laser-guided part coming from elsewhere. This difference allowed Ligchine to enter the business. For others, it would be challenging to develop a model without infringing on Somero's or Ligchine's methods.

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