Archives for June 7, 2012

Alvarez & Marsal Hires New Due Diligence Professional

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Professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal has added Michael O’Dowd to the firm’s Transaction Advisory Group. He joins the firm as a managing director and will be based in New York.

“Our clients’ expectations of federal tax changes in 2012, along with many private equity firms’ need to deploy capital and exit investments has led to a spike in demand for our integrated due diligence advisory services across all industry verticals. As we continue to grow our team of world class transaction advisors, Mike is an exceptional addition to our global practice,” said Paul Aversano, global practice leader of the A&M Transaction Advisory Group.

With more than 15 years of transaction-related experience, Mr. O’Dowd specializes in coordinating and leading financial accounting due diligence projects for both buy-side and sell-side engagements. Over the course of his career, he has led international due diligence transactions for both private equity and strategic buyers. He has also served clients across a range of industries, including manufacturing, retail, distribution, consumer products, industrial products, business services, and financial services.

Prior to joining Alvarez & Marsal, Mr. O’Dowd was a managing director with the transaction advisory services practice of Duff & Phelps, and previously served in the transaction advisory services practices of both Ernst & Young and Arthur Andersen in New York. Throughout his career, he has focused on advising clients on assessing quality of earnings and working capital, leverage recapitalizations, purchase accounting, SEC reporting and GAAP accounting. Additionally, he has advised on acquisitions involving businesses that are carved out of public and private companies, as well as assisted clients with the drafting of purchase and sale agreements, purchase price adjustment mechanisms and the determination of post-transaction reporting requirements. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA.

The private equity services group of Alvarez & Marsal provides due diligence/acquisition support, performance improvement and business advisory services, portfolio management, turnaround management and exit support. The group has more than 150 professionals and has offices in New York, NY and Chicago, IL (www.alvarezandmarsal.com).

Winston & Strawn Adds Bradley Mandel to Its Corporate and Private Equity Practice

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Winston & Strawn announced today that private investment fund formation attorney, Bradley Mandel, has joined the firm’s Chicago office. “We’re delighted that Brad has chosen to bring his substantial experience to Winston and to help us continue to grow our private equity and hedge fund capabilities,” said Andrew McDonough, co-chair of the firm’s private equity practice.

In addition to his work advising both U.S. and non-U.S. private equity and other alternative investment funds and managers in formation, maintenance and regulatory matters, Mr. Mandel has experience representing institutional investors with respect to their investments in private equity and hedge funds, as well as working with both buyers and sellers of private equity fund interests in secondary transactions. Mr. Mandel has also represented private equity fund sponsors on acquisitions and divestitures of their portfolio companies. He joins Winston from Proskauer Rose.

“The depth of Brad’s experience in advising top tier firms investing in a wide range of transactions and industries will be highly valued by global clients across all of our offices,” said Steven Gavin, chairman of the firm’s corporate department.

“I am looking forward to joining Winston’s private investment fund team and helping it to even more fully leverage its substantial know-how for clients,” said Mr. Mandel.

Mr. Mandel received a JD from the Fordham University School of Law, where he was associate editor of the Fordham Environmental Law Journal, and graduated with an undergraduate degree from Cornell University.

Winston & Strawn LLP is an international commercial law firm with 15 offices in America, Asia and Europe (www.winston.com).

Thomas H. Lee Partners Acquires Kazaam Interactive

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InVentiv Health, a provider of clinical, commercial and consulting services to the healthcare industry and a portfolio company of Thomas H. Lee Partners, announced today that it has acquired Kazaam Interactive, a provider of marketing services for healthcare agencies and brands. The acquisition of Kazaam Interactive will be funded with equity from Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL) and other existing stockholders. THL, along with Liberty Lane and other co-investors, acquired inVentiv in August 2010.

Kazaam Interactive is a digital marketing agency offering strategy and services to brands and organizations. The company has worked with over sixty of the world’s largest brands and allows the use of online channels to connect brands, organizations and customers. The company is based in Newtown, PA (www.kazaamweb.com).

InVentiv Health is a provider of clinical, commercial and consulting services to companies in the healthcare industry. Customers include more than 550 pharmaceutical, biotech and life sciences companies. The company has more than 13,000 employees in 40 countries and is based in Somerset, NJ (www.inventivhealth.com).

“Demand for digital and social media solutions has expanded rapidly among our clients as physicians, patients and payers have grown more technically savvy,” said Paul Meister, CEO of inVentiv Health. “Kazaam Interactive helps us to meet this growing demand with digitally-based programs that have been proven to deliver value. The combination of Kazaam’s cutting-edge technology with inVentiv Commercial’s broad expertise in healthcare public relations and communication will result in fully-integrated and powerful solutions for our clients.”

Thomas H. Lee, founded in 1974, is one of the oldest private equity investment firms in the United States. Industries of interest include business and information services; consumer products and retail; financial services; health care; industrial; and media & communications. Since its founding, THL has raised approximately $20 billion of equity capital and invested in more than 100 businesses with an aggregate purchase price of more than $150 billion. The firm is based in Boston, MA (www.thl.com).

“inVentiv is well-positioned to capture additional market share through its range of products and services,” said Todd Abbrecht, Managing Director of THL. “THL’s equity funding for the Kazaam acquisition reinforces our commitment to working with the senior leadership team at inVentiv to strengthen its position as a best-in- class global pharmaceutical services company. We will continue to work closely with the company to develop additional opportunities to maximize the global market opportunity for their expanded service offering.”

Weld North Invests in Organic Avenue

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Weld North announced today that it has acquired a significant minority stake in Organic Avenue, a provider of organic juices and raw food plans. “After six years of successful local expansion and building a loyal customer base, we were ready to take on a partner that could help manifest our vision,” said Denise Mari, Founder, Organic Avenue.

Organic Avenue provides organic juicing and raw food plans and has a vertically integrated line of 50 custom developed healthy product categories including organic, cold-pressed juices, soups, smoothies, salads, booster shots, gourmet entrees and desserts. The company also offers classes in food preparation, community gatherings and health-promoting retreats. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in New York, NY (www.organicavenue.com).

Weld North is an investment company founded by former Kaplan, Inc. CEO Jonathan Grayer in partnership with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Sectors of interest include education, health and wellness, consumer services and marketing businesses. The investment marks in Organic Avenue is the first in the health and wellness space for Weld North. As part of the transaction, Mr. Grayer will become Chairman of Organic Avenue. The firm is based in Greenwich, CT (www.weldnorth.com).

“We are extremely excited to begin Weld North’s expansion into the health and wellness category with this investment in Organic Avenue,” said Mr. Grayer, Chairman and CEO, Weld North. “The organic lifestyle market is an exciting and dynamic space, with consumers spending more than $300 billion on lifestyle and health-related products in 2011. Organic Avenue, under the leadership of its current management team, has had an impressive growth story in the greater NYC market with high volume stores in key New York neighborhoods addressing an important and growing consumer market. We look forward to helping Organic Avenue realize its goal to open many more new locations over the next two years and to position the company for long-term expansion.”

J.F. Lehman & Company Acquires Chemring Marine

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Drew Marine, a provider services to the maritime industry and a portfolio company of J.F. Lehman & Company, has reached an agreement with Chemring Group to acquire Chemring’s maritime interests for £32 million pounds in cash. Under Drew Marine’s ownership, the business will be named Drew Marine Signal and Safety.

Chemring Marine is a supplier of marine distress signals including hand-flares, man-over-board buoys, line-throwers and other required rescue products under established brands including Pains Wessex, Comet, Aurora and Oroquieta. The company’s products are produced in Bremerhaven, Germany; Pamplona, Spain; and Lara, Australia. The business will continue to be headquartered in Hampshire, UK (www.chemringmarine.com).

Drew Marine is a provider of technical solutions and services to the marine industry specializing in water treatment, fire, safety & rescue, cleaning & coatings, fuel management, welding & refrigeration and sealing products. Drew Marine was acquired by J.F. Lehman & Company in 2009. The company is based in Whippany, NJ (www.drew-marine.com).

“The acquisition of Chemring Marine is a perfect fit with our strategy to provide essential products for safety, reliability and compliance to the global maritime industry. Like Drew Marine, Chemring Marine is known for supplying the highest quality and best performing products to the markets that we serve. The addition of these high quality brands is in keeping with Drew Marine’s philosophy of bringing the best of the market to our customers. In addition, we add a new distribution model to Drew Marine’s capabilities, which should allow us to broaden our customer base and explore additional products suitable for the Company’s global distributor network,” said Len Gelosa, President and CEO of Drew Marine.

J.F. Lehman & Company is a middle-market private equity firm focused primarily on the maritime, defense, and aerospace sectors. The firm was founded by Dr. John F. Lehman, who served six years as Secretary of the United States Navy. To date, J.F. Lehman has made investments in companies with an aggregate transaction value of approximately $1.6 billion. The firm was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in New York with additional offices in Washington, DC and London. (www.jflpartners.com).

Francisco Partners Acquires Plex Systems

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Francisco Partners today announced the acquisition of Plex Systems, a provider of cloud ERP software for manufacturers, from a group of shareholders, including Apax Partners. Francisco Partners has identified Plex Systems as an early mover in the cloud ERP market with significant recurring revenue and strong growth opportunities.

Plex Systems’ flagship product, Plex Online, is a “shop floor to top floor” solution providing functionality for virtually every department within quality-driven manufacturers. The company has a customer base across the automotive, aerospace and defense, food and beverage and electronics industries, where manufacturers are turning to the cloud to streamline and modernize their global operations. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Auburn Hills, MI (www.plex.com).

“We are thrilled that Francisco Partners shares our vision and sees the huge opportunity before us,” said Mark Symonds, CEO of Plex Systems. “We have entered an era where cloud computing is impacting virtually all business operations, and Plex Systems is among the leaders of this new model for technology development and delivery. Francisco Partners is the ideal partner to enable Plex Systems to help more manufacturers compete and win in the global market.”

Francisco Partners pursues investments in technology companies with transaction values ranging from $50 million to $2 billion. Transaction structures include buyouts, divisional divestitures, recapitalizations, restructurings and growth equity financings. Francisco Partners is headquartered in San Francisco, CA (www.franciscopartners.com).

“We believe that Plex Systems has the potential to lead the transition to cloud ERP for manufacturers, and that this will be as transformative as the adoption of cloud solutions has been to sales, marketing, and human capital management,” said Petri Oksanen, a principal at Francisco Partners.

Francisco Partners was advised by Pacific Crest Securities, and Plex Systems was advised by Lazard.