Houston Firm Bought in August Sells Manufacturing Facility

Less than two months after being absorbed by a Russian manufacturer, the largest independent tubular manufacturer in North America, John Maneely Co. (JMC), has sold its 188,800-square-foot facility in eastern Houston to Miami-based Elite Sales Inc., an importer and wholesale distributor of wire rope, cable, strand, chain and hardware, for an undisclosed amount. The building is situated on approximately 10.82 acres and housed the company’s Seminole Wheatland Tube Facility before its acquisition by Novolipetsk Steel, a Russian steel producer. Novolipetsk purchased the company last month from The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm. The sale of the business coincides with the shuttering of the 30-year-old plant and the layoff of its 80-person staff, according to the Houston Business Journal. The buyer, Elite Sales, is relocating from its 40,000-square-foot facility at 2003 Edwards Street, in Midtown Houston, to the larger facility. Once vacated, the Edwards Street location will be available to leasing prospects. On Aug. 12, Novolipetsk Steel, the leading Russian steel producer, signed a definitive agreement to acquire John Maneely Co. from a shareholder group including global private equity firm The Carlyle Group and the Zekelman family for $3.53 billion, acquiring the company on a debt free, cash free basis. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The transaction will be financed from available bank commitments, including the recently established $1.6 billion Pre Export Finance (PXF) facility and a $2 billion bridge commitment provided by Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale. Micheal Palmer, John Simons and Susana Rosas with CB Richard Ellis Inc. represented John Maneely in the sale of the Houston site and will handle the leasing efforts for 2003 Edwards Street on behalf of Elite Sales.Headquartered in Beachwood, Ohio, JMC is the largest independent tubular manufacturer in North America, employing 2,100 people and operating eleven plants in five states and one Canadian province with a total production capacity of more than 3 million tons of steel pipe and tube per year.