20 March 2024 • 2 minute read
DLA Piper advises Arlington Capital Partners in the formation of defense manufacturing company “Keel”
DLA Piper advised Arlington Capital Partners (Arlington), a Washington, DC-area private investment firm specializing in government regulated industries, in the formation of Keel Holdings, (Keel), a leading manufacturer of complex structures for the highest priority programs within the Navy, Army, and Air Force. The company was formed through the merger of existing Arlington portfolio company Pegasus Steel with the newly completed acquisitions of Metal Trades and Merrill Technologies Group.
With more than one million square feet of manufacturing floor space and approximately 700 employees, Keel will offer its customers a vertically integrated suite of design, engineering, fabrication, machining, integration, assembly, finishing, and surface treatment capabilities across its nine facilities in Michigan and South Carolina. The Company’s locations include a facility strategically located with direct frontage to deep water that allows for large module delivery by barge to submarine and aircraft carrier customers.
“We were honored to advise Arlington in the formation of leading defense manufacturer Keel and to represent Arlington in the acquisitions of Pegasus Steel, Metal Trades and Merrill Technologies Group, whose robust set of capabilities will meet the growing demands of the Navy and industrial and commercial end markets,” said Jeffrey Houle, co-chair of DLA Piper’s Aerospace, Defense and Government Services Transactional Practice, who led the deal team.
Along with Houle (Washington, DC), the DLA Piper team that advised Arlington included partners Tom Pilkerton (Baltimore), Julia Kovacs (Washington), Jeffrey Salinger and Paolo Morante (New York), Jimmy Rusert (Atlanta) and Nate McKitterick (Palo Alto); of counsels Nia Brown (Washington, DC) and Christina Pappas (Baltimore); senior attorney Cara Hupprich (Northern Virginia); and associates Huntington Domine (Palo Alto) Sam Neece (Dallas).
With more than one million square feet of manufacturing floor space and approximately 700 employees, Keel will offer its customers a vertically integrated suite of design, engineering, fabrication, machining, integration, assembly, finishing, and surface treatment capabilities across its nine facilities in Michigan and South Carolina. The Company’s locations include a facility strategically located with direct frontage to deep water that allows for large module delivery by barge to submarine and aircraft carrier customers.
“We were honored to advise Arlington in the formation of leading defense manufacturer Keel and to represent Arlington in the acquisitions of Pegasus Steel, Metal Trades and Merrill Technologies Group, whose robust set of capabilities will meet the growing demands of the Navy and industrial and commercial end markets,” said Jeffrey Houle, co-chair of DLA Piper’s Aerospace, Defense and Government Services Transactional Practice, who led the deal team.
Along with Houle (Washington, DC), the DLA Piper team that advised Arlington included partners Tom Pilkerton (Baltimore), Julia Kovacs (Washington), Jeffrey Salinger and Paolo Morante (New York), Jimmy Rusert (Atlanta) and Nate McKitterick (Palo Alto); of counsels Nia Brown (Washington, DC) and Christina Pappas (Baltimore); senior attorney Cara Hupprich (Northern Virginia); and associates Huntington Domine (Palo Alto) Sam Neece (Dallas).
