BWAY Corporation, a supplier of general line rigid containers and a portfolio company of Madison Dearborn Partners, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Platinum Equity in a transaction valued at approximately $1.2 billion. Senior executives of the BWAY and a number of other employees will invest in the transaction alongside Platinum.
The acquisition will be financed through a combination of equity contributed by Platinum Equity along with certain members of management, and committed debt financing provided by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012.
“BWAY is a world class packaging business with strong customer relationships and a proven management team,” said Louis Samson, the Partner at Platinum Equity whose team led the acquisition. “We are excited to bring our operational capabilities to bear and to partner with the company’s management team to build on BWAY’s strong fundamentals.”
BWAY is a manufacturer and distributor of metal and rigid plastic containers that are used primarily for packaging of industrial and consumer products. Products include aerosol cans, ammunition boxes, cone and pour top cans, metal paint cans, oil cans, and plastic drums. The company operates 22 plants throughout the United States and Canada and is based in Atlanta, GA (www.bwaycorp.com).
“We are very excited about this transaction with Platinum Equity. Platinum brings to BWAY a strong operational and strategic focus and a tremendous track record of value creation that we are convinced will help us achieve new levels of success,” said Ken Roessler, BWAY’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to taking the next step in the evolution of our company.”
Goldman, Sachs & Co., Barclays and Deutsche Bank Securities acted as financial advisors to BWAY and Kirkland & Ellis was the company’s legal advisor. Latham & Watkins acted as legal advisor to Platinum Equity.
Platinum Equity invests in a range of industries including information technology, telecommunications, logistics, metals services, manufacturing and distribution. Platinum Equity has completed nearly 120 acquisitions with more than $27.5 billion in aggregate annual revenue at the time of acquisition. The firm is based in Beverly Hills, CA and also has offices in New York, NY and London, UK (www.platinumequity.com).
Madison Dearborn Partners has more than $18 billion of capital under management and makes new investments through its most recent funds, Madison Dearborn Capital Partners V and Madison Dearborn Capital Partners VI. Madison Dearborn invests in businesses across a spectrum of industries including basic industries; business and government services; consumer; financial services; health care; and telecom, media and technology services. The firm was founded in 1992 and is based in Chicago, IL (www.mdcp.com).
© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 10-3-12
