The second generation of family run swimsuit maker Raj Manufacturing Inc. of Tustin has led an investor-backed buyout of the company started by their parents 40 years ago.
Alex Bhathal and sister Lisa Bhathal Vogel have taken over the company in a deal with San Francisco-based private equity investor Swander Pace Capital LLC.
The deal was a matter of “estate planning to transfer the company to the second generation,” Alex Bhathal said.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Alex Bhathal declined to comment on particulars.
Alex Bhathal, who had been executive vice president, and Lisa Bhathal Vogel, who headed up marketing, now are co-presidents.
Parents Raj and Marta Bhathal, who turned over daily operations to their kids in recent years, still own part of the company and will serve as directors, Alex Bhathal said.
Swander will have an undisclosed number of seats.
The family worked on a deal for the past six months to a year, Alex Bhathal said. He declined to say how many potential investors the family talked with.
The move marks a turning point for Raj, which Raj and Marta Bhathal started in 1967. The company has been a close-knit family business for all its life.
“It’s still a family company,” Alex Bhathal said.
For more on this story, see the March 26 edition of the Business Journal.
