PlayCore gets new owner

Chattanooga- based business is nation’s largest maker of playground equipment and expects continued growth

“To be quite candid, nothing’s changing. We’re going to keep investing in core growth and acquisition growth going forward. There’s a lot of opportunity for future growth.”

— PLAYCORE PRESIDENT AND CEO ROGER POSACKI

Chattanooga-based PlayCore, the nation’s largest maker of playground equipment, has a new owner.

A New York City-based private equity firm, Court Square Capital Partners, purchased PlayCore from another private equity firm, Sentinel Capital Partners, for an undisclosed amount, according to an announcement Monday.

Sentinel Capital Partners has owned PlayCore since 2014. Since then, PlayCore has grown and acquired 14 other companies and today owns 27 brands with more than 8,000 customers, the venture capital company stated.

So what does the change of ownership mean for PlayCore?

“To be quite candid, nothing’s changing,” PlayCore President and CEO Roger Posacki said Monday. “We’re going to keep investing in core growth and acquisition growth going forward. There’s a lot of opportunity for future growth.”

This summer, PlayCore moved

its roughly 105 corporate employees into new headquarters in downtown Chattanooga at 531 Broad St. in the former FSG Bank building.

PlayCore also employs about 350 Chattanoogaarea people at a production plant in Fort Payne, Ala.

“If anything, we’ll look to expand our operations in Fort Payne,” Posacki said. “It’s our biggest facility.”

Posacki called Sentinel “a strong and supportive partner during a highly successful period in PlayCore’s history.”

“We are very pleased with the excellent results PlayCore has achieved,” Eric Bommer, a Sentinel partner, said in a statement Monday. “During our ownership, PlayCore has not missed a beat, which is a tremendous credit to its outstanding management team, and we leave the company well-positioned for future success as the industry leader.”

Posacki said that prior to Sentinel’s ownership, PlayCore was owned by at least two other private equity firms: Irving Place Capital and Chartwell Investments.

A Court Square Capital Partners spokesman didn’t respond Monday to phone calls seeking comment.

Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu @timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/ MeetsForBusiness or on Twitter @meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.

STAFF PHOTO BY DAVE FLESSNER PlayCore recently moved its corporate headquarters into the former FSG Bank building at 531 Broad St. downtown.

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY ERIN O. SMITH Mark Keaney, information technology director at GameTime, and Charles H. Wood, vice president of economic development at the Chattanooga Area Chamber, tour PlayCore’s new facility in June.