Griffin Serves as Exclusive Investment Banker to CDM Inc. in Its $170 Million Sale to Diploma PLC

Company Overview

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Turnersville, NJ, CDM Inc. (CDM) is a premier one-stop distributor and assembler of mission-critical electrical interconnect solutions for aerospace, defense and industrial markets. CDM operates more than 94,000 square feet of sales, distribution and manufacturing space from its facilities in NJ and MD, pairing an authorized distribution platform of thousands of SKUs with an engineered assembly division producing custom harnesses, box builds and electromechanical assemblies. CDM products are specified into long-lived defense platforms including the Iron Dome, F-35, Bradley Fighting Vehicle and M-777 programs, and blue-chip relationships with Tier-1 primes including BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon.

Situation

After more than three decades building CDM as a family business, its shareholders sought a liquidity event through the sale of their equity. The second-generation owners oversaw a period of rapid growth and wanted a potential buyer to support the company through its next phase of growth. Leadership was committed to remaining through the transition and beyond, providing continuity to customers and employees, and a platform for a new owner to scale. Reoccurring revenue from entrenched program positions, premium engineered-product margins, a fragmented industry ripe for consolidation and strong defense sector tailwinds made CDM an attractive target for both strategic acquirers and financial sponsors. Shareholders preferred a quicker, targeted sale process so as to minimize disruption to business.

Solution

CDM engaged Griffin Financial Group, whose relationship with CDM started in 2009, as its exclusive investment banker to manage a sale process. Instead of broadly marketing the company, Griffin executed a tightly controlled, limited sale process, engaging a handful of top-tier strategic buyers best positioned to recognize CDM’s value and support its growth trajectory – while preserving the option and leverage of a full-scale process. This limited process generated strong competitive tension and resulted in a sale to Diploma PLC (LSE: DPLM), a UK-based value-add solutions group, which provides critical products and services to customers across a wide range of markets. The transaction delivered liquidity beyond shareholder expectations and aligned CDM with a well-capitalized international partner positioned to accelerate its organic and acquisition-driven growth, with management remaining in place to lead the next chapter.

For more information, contact John A. Lee, Senior Managing Director, at 610.205.6106, Andrew D. Rudner, Vice President, at 610.205.6102 or Benjamin W. Sinrod, Analyst, at 610.205.6022.