Hunt Valve was a case where May River leveraged its knowledge of a specific industrial vertical and partnered with an experienced executive to create value.
Hunt Valve is a long-standing manufacturer of mission critical valves and actuators used in the Navy’s highest-priority submarines, aircraft carriers, surface combatant vessels, and other platforms. The company has facilities in Montreal and Ohio, which manufacture proprietary valve and actuator technologies for prime shipbuilders and the U.S. and Canadian Navies.
At the time of the acquisition in late 2015, the U.S. Navy was preparing for what was expected to be nearly a two-decade-long ramp up in new submarine and combatant ship production. These new submarines were to replace the aging Cold War-era fleet that was targeted for decommissioning over the coming years. As one of only a handful of qualified providers of critical valves to the submarine and aircraft carrier programs, Hunt stood to benefit significantly from the upcoming new ship procurement cycle, as well as the consistent repair and replacement activity surrounding the existing active fleet.
