LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Century Park Capital Partners is pleased to announce the recapitalization of CJ Pony Parts, LLC (“CJ Pony Parts” or the “Company”). Headquartered in Harrisburg, PA, CJ Pony Parts is the market leader in the Classic Mustang e-commerce space. CJ Pony Parts was founded by Jay Zeigler and a partner in 1985 with the purchase of a 1968 Mustang as a restoration project. The two founders quickly realized that their passion for Classic Mustangs was shared by other enthusiasts. Sensing there would be strong demand for Classic Mustang parts and accessories, they started a small parts business by attending car shows and events together. Since those early days, Jay has continuously operated the business, and in 2000 he brought on Mike Large to accelerate the Company’s growth trajectory. The Company has since expanded into all other Mustang generations, as well as other vehicle makes and models, including Jeep and Classic Truck. In 2010, Jay bought out his original partner, and in 2017 CJ Pony Parts added an additional warehouse and distribution facility in Las Vegas, NV.
Jay is excited to remain involved with the business, and is looking forward to the Company’s continued growth and expansion. Jay commented, “I am so happy to have found a partner in Century Park that is aligned with my goals and vision for CJ Pony Parts. I am looking forward to the opportunities we will create by bringing in a team of experienced leaders to put us in a better position to service the growing needs of our valuable customers.”
Mike Large will continue to serve as President and is also participating in the transaction. Mike added, “After 20 years of experiencing the development of the Company from my initial job in the warehouse, we are so excited to be joining the Century Park family. With the auto aftermarket and e-commerce expertise they are bringing to CJ Pony Parts, we absolutely feel like we have picked the right partner for our next chapter of growth.”
Guy Zaczepinski, Managing Partner with Century Park, commented, “We couldn’t be happier to be partnering with Jay, Mike and the rest of the talented CJ Pony Parts team in this recapitalization. CJ Pony Parts is the most respected name in the Classic Mustang aftermarket and with our involvement, we hope to make it an even larger player in the broader automotive e-commerce space.”
Adam Zacuto, Vice President with Century Park, added, “Since the early 2000s, CJ Pony Parts has benefited from being a first mover in e-commerce. Over the last two decades, the Company has consistently expanded their footprint by adding parts for new vehicles and developing an industry-leading library of online educational content. As the leader in the Classic Mustang category, we believe CJ Pony Parts is ideally positioned to capitalize on continued e-commerce tailwinds going forward.”
Matt Jordan, a member of the Century Park Executive Council, will be joining the Company as a board member. Matt has over 18 years of executive leadership experience in the auto aftermarket, and 23 years of experience in e-commerce. Matt is currently the CEO of Covercraft Industries, and was previously CEO of the Aftermarket Performance Group (APG) and Eckler’s Industries. Matt concluded, “I have been working with Guy and the Century Park team for over 15 years in the auto aftermarket. I think this is a perfect fit and I couldn’t be more excited for this partnership.”
BMO Sponsor Finance provided the debt financing for the transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About CJ Pony Parts:
Founded in 1985, CJ Pony Parts is an e-commerce platform that sells restoration and performance parts to auto enthusiasts around the world. The Company is the number one player in the Classic Mustang aftermarket, with a broad product assortment of over 65K SKUs. In addition, CJ Pony Parts has developed an industry-leading library of online educational content for its customers. The Company’s market-leading YouTube channel serves as a “go-to resource” for Classic Mustang product instruction and installation trainings, and currently has over 200K subscribers. In addition to serving the Classic Mustang community, CJ Pony Parts also offers a growing assortment of parts for late model Mustangs, trucks and Jeeps. The Company is headquartered in Harrisburg, PA with an additional warehouse facility in Las Vegas, NV. For more information on CJ Pony Parts, please visit www.cjponyparts.com.
About Century Park Capital Partners:
Century Park Capital Partners is a Los Angeles-based private equity group established in 2000 that invests in family businesses, owner-operated firms and corporate divestitures with the purpose of accelerating growth and transforming these companies into leading industry players. We specialize in acquiring strategically well-positioned yet under-resourced middle market companies with identifiable potential for value creation. We leverage the domain expertise of the Century Park Executive Council to work with management to implement a value creation blueprint for our portfolio companies. We further support our investments with proven operational and best practice initiatives, led by our Operating Team, including buy-and-build acquisition integration programs and infrastructure additions. For more information on Century Park, please visit www.centuryparkcapital.com.
Contacts
Century Park Capital Partners
Matt Minnaugh
Director of Business Development
(310) 867-2216
mminnaugh@cpclp.com
or
Guy Zaczepinski
Managing Partner
(310) 867-2227
gzaczepinski@cpclp.com
