Watson Valve Services, Inc. 363 Bankruptcy Sale of Assets to MOGAS Industries, Inc.

05.08.2020

HOUSTON, TEXAS (August 4, 2020) – Statesman Corporate Finance, LLC (“Statesman”) and SSG Capital Advisors, LLC (“SSG”) acted as co-investment bankers to Watson Valve Services, Inc. (“Watson Valve” and/or the “Company”), in a sale of substantially all its assets to MOGAS Industries, Inc. (“MOGAS”). The sale was effectuated through a Chapter 11 Section 363 process in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The transaction closed July 1, 2020.

Founded in 2002 and based in Houston, Texas, Watson Valve is a manufacturer of both proprietary and non-proprietary ball valves The Company mainly services customers with autoclave operations and those with fluid products under severe pressures or in highly corrosive environments. The Company also repairs and refurbishes its own and other manufacturers’ valves. Watson Valve has an established base of domestic and international customers and has over 3,000 of its valves installed world-wide.

In January 2020, a catastrophic gas explosion at the plant of its exclusive manufacturing vendor abruptly shuttered Watson Valves’ primary manufacturing channel and severely disrupted its capabilities to fulfill its existing project contracts and open customer orders. This sudden and dramatic business disruption forced the Company to file for a voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization petition in February 2020. In March 2020, Statesman and SSG were retained by Watson Valve as its exclusive investment bankers to initiate a plan for the sale of the Company’s assets. A comprehensive marketing process was conducted that attracted interest from numerous domestic and international parties. The sale process was eventually narrowed to two parties that competed in an auction supervised by the Chapter 11 Trustee. MOGAS’ high bid was deemed to provide the best outcome for all stakeholders and a sale to MOGAS was subsequently approved by the bankruptcy court. Statesman’s and SSG’s experience in special/complex situations and running expedited sale processes enabled the transaction to be consummated on a going-concern basis and preserved the jobs of numerous Watson Valve employees.

Matt Mogas, MOGAS President and CEO, said: “This acquisition allows MOGAS to expand its product portfolio and get a step closer to achieving our vision of being the dominant global severe service technology company. We will continue to leverage our years of field experience to further enhance the Watson Valve product line.” 

About the Other Transaction Participants 

Statesman Corporate Finance, LLC (Houston & Austin, TX) is the FINRA-licensed broker dealer affiliate of Statesman Business Advisors, LLC. and is a leading middle-market investment banking firm providing merger and acquisition, capital formation, valuation, and other general corporate financial advisory services to middle-market companies.

The Statesman team advising on this transaction was Walter Tomlinson, Principal, Gary Canon, Director, David Carrasco, Vice President, and Nathan Hurst, Analyst.

SSG Capital Advisors, LLC (Philadelphia, PA & New York, NY) is an independent boutique investment bank that assists middle-market companies and their stakeholders in completing special situation transactions providing mergers and acquisitions, private placements, financial restructurings, valuations, litigation and strategic advisory.

The SSG team advising on this transaction was Mark Chesen, Managing Director, Matt Karlson, Managing Director, and Gregory O’Sullivan, Analyst.

MOGAS Industries, Inc. (Houston, TX) is a severe service technology company, providing world-renowned services and the best application-specific products for critical applications in power, mining, oil & gas, refining, chemical / petrochemical, and specialty industries. MOGAS has service centers and/or representative offices in the US, Canada, Europe, China, Australia, and the Middle East.

Other Professional Advisors for Watson Valve:

Professional Advisors for MOGAS: 

  • Michael J. Simmons, Senior Partner Vantage Associates-West, Inc. financial & strategic advisor to MOGAS.
  • Holland N. O’Neil, Susan E. Pravada, Erika L. Morabito, Thomas C. Scannell, and Paige M. Moscow of Foley & Lardner LLP, legal counsel to MOGAS.
< Back