Archives for November 2012

Wind Point and Teachers’ Private Capital Acquire Shearer’s Foods

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Wind Point Partners and Teachers’ Private Capital have completed the acquisition of Shearer’s Foods, a manufacturer of private label salty snacks and kettle cooked potato chips.

Wind Point and Teachers’ are partnering with C.J. Fraleigh, who is joining Shearer’s as Chairman and CEO. Mr. Fraleigh, who most recently served as CEO of Sara Lee – North America, has 25 years of experience in consumer products.

“I’m very excited to be joining the team at Shearer’s,” said Mr. Fraleigh. “With the growth of private label brands and the trend toward outsourcing for branded food companies, Shearer’s is well-positioned to continue its historical growth trajectory. I look forward to working with the company’s 1,850 employees to execute on growth opportunities we’ve identified and continue providing Shearer’s customers with excellent service and consistently high quality products.”

Shearer’s is the largest producer of private label salty snacks in North America and the largest producer of kettle cooked potato chips in the world. Shearer’s produces a range of salty snack products including kettle and traditional potato chips, tortilla chips, rice crisps, whole grain chips, cheese curls and other extruded products, which it offers in a variety of flavors and packaging sizes. Shearer’s manufactures both branded and private label snacks for retailers and contract manufactures snacks for the nation’s largest branded snack food companies. The company operates five manufacturing facilities in Ohio, Texas, Oregon and Virginia and is base in Massillon, OH (www.shearers.com).

Wind Point Partners invests from $20 million to $70 million of equity in companies with revenues from $100 million to $500 million and EBITDAs of at least $8 million. Industries of interest include business services, consumer products, healthcare and industrial products. The firm has approximately $2.8 billion in capital under management and has completed more than 90 investments and 160 add-on acquisitions across its seven private equity funds. Wind Point Partners is located in Chicago, IL (www.wppartners.com).

Teachers’ Private Capital is one of the world’s largest private equity investors, having participated as a long-term investor in numerous management buyouts in Canada, the United States and Europe. It is the private investment department of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. Teachers’ Private Capital is based in Toronto with offices in New York and London (www.teachersprivatecapital.com).

© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-2-12

American Industrial Partners Acquires Cabinets Business of Armstrong World Industries

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Armstrong World Industries has closed its previously announced sale of its cabinets business to American Industrial Partners effective, October 31, 2012.

American Industrial Partners will operate the cabinets business under the name ACProducts, Inc. and was granted a license to use certain Armstrong trademarks and operate under the Armstrong Cabinet Products trade name for two years.

The Armstrong cabinet business makes cabinetry for single-family and multi-family builders and remodelers in the U.S. In 2011 the business had sales of $136 million and had approximately 750 employees. The Armstrong cabinet business is based in Thompsontown, PA (click HERE for access to the Armstrong cabinet website).

American Industrial Partners seeks to acquire control positions in North American headquartered industrial companies with sales ranging from $100 million to $500 million. The firm was founded in 1989 and is currently managing more than $1.1 billion in equity capital. American Industrial Partners is based in New York (www.aipartners.com).

Armstrong World Industries is a designer and manufacture of floors and ceilings. In 2011, Armstrong’s consolidated net sales from continuing operations totaled approximately $2.7 billion. Based in Lancaster, PA, Armstrong operates 32 plants in eight countries and has approximately 8,500 employees worldwide (www.armstrong.com).

“Exiting our cabinets business supports our strategy to focus on our core businesses – flooring and ceilings – around the world. This was the right decision for us,” said Armstrong CEO Matt Espe. “We thank the employees for their commitment over the years, and we wish them and the new owners great success as they work to build on a strong foundation of quality and service.”

© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-2-12

Halifax Partners Invests in Interim HealthCare

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The Halifax Group has completed, in partnership with management, an investment in Interim HealthCare, a home healthcare franchisor. The current senior executive team of Interim HealthCare will continue to serve in their management roles.

“We are pleased to enter into a partnership with Halifax,” said Interim HealthCare’s President and CEO, Kathleen Gilmartin. “We have enjoyed consistent growth over the past several years and think Halifax’s financial capabilities and experience in both healthcare and franchising will be invaluable to our business. It was evident from our first meeting that Halifax brought a unique and well-informed set of skills, resources and shared strategy about how to execute our strategic plan.”

Interim is a home healthcare franchisor with more than 300 independently owned franchise locations in 43 states that provide skilled home healthcare, home-based hospice care, personal care and independent living support, as well as supplemental healthcare staffing. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in Sunrise, FL (www.interimhealthcare.com).

“Halifax has a tradition of partnering with strong management, and we have been impressed with Interim’s team. Their vision and hard work has resulted in a company whose scale and reputation for quality sets Interim apart from its competitors,” said Ken Doyle, Managing Director at Halifax.

The Halifax Group specializes in partnering with managers and entrepreneurs to recapitalize and grow lower middle-market businesses across a variety of industries including health and wellness; infrastructure; business and government services; and franchising. The firm maintains offices in Washington, DC; Dallas, TX; and Raleigh, NC (www.thehalifaxgroup.com).

© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-2-12

American Capital Launches New Lending Group

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American Capital has expanded its investment management activities into the energy infrastructure sector with the formation of American Capital Infrastructure. American Capital has committed $200 million to support American Capital Infrastructure initiatives.

American Capital Infrastructure will make investments in global energy infrastructure assets, including power generation facilities, power distribution and transmission networks, energy transportation assets and fuel production opportunities. The creation of American Capital Infrastructure will expand American Capital’s energy investing efforts globally. To date, American Capital has invested $606 million in domestic mid-market oil field services and related companies led by Kevin Kuykendall out of its Dallas, TX office.

American Capital Infrastructure will be led by Paul Hanrahan, CEO. “I am very pleased to join and head American Capital Infrastructure,” said Mr. Hanrahan. “Worldwide energy consumption is expected to increase substantially by 2030 and significant investment in energy infrastructure is required to satisfy this demand. This demand is driven by emerging markets experiencing robust economic growth, a rapid expansion of middle class populations and limited existing energy infrastructure. All of these factors create significant investment opportunities for American Capital Infrastructure and I am delighted that our team can lead American Capital into these targeted investments.” Joining Mr. Hanrahan are Rich Santoroski, Managing Director, and Rajeev Garside, Vice President

“We are delighted to welcome Paul, Rich and Rajeev, leading industry professionals with extensive experience in the global energy industry, to head American Capital Infrastructure,” said Malon Wilkus, American Capital Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The team’s background as both investors in and operators of energy infrastructure assets in high-growth and developed markets make them uniquely qualified to lead American Capital’s initiative into energy infrastructure investments. The team’s track record of managing and investing in energy infrastructure assets across the energy value chain during multiple stages of development is a tremendous advantage for the future development of American Capital Infrastructure.”

Mr. Hanrahan joins American Capital after serving as the President and CEO of The AES Corporation, a Fortune 150 global power company, from 2002 through 2011. Prior to assuming the CEO position at AES, Mr. Hanrahan was COO and Executive Vice President of AES and President and CEO of AES China Generating Co., Ltd. During his tenure at AES, Mr. Hanrahan was responsible for establishing operations in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the United States. He was directly involved in multiple acquisitions, expansions, and greenfield development of energy and natural resource businesses around the world ranging in size up to several billion dollars of enterprise value. Mr. Hanrahan currently serves on the boards of Arch Coal, Ingredion, Great Point Energy, LLC, and AquaVentures Holdings, LLC.

Mr. Santoroski joins American Capital after holding several senior roles at AES including Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer, and Co-Head of Global Development. Mr. Santoroski oversaw commercial strategy development for AES’ global platform and co-managed AES’ development efforts with specific focus on Asia and global M&A. In addition, Mr. Santoroski served on the AES Executive Committee, where he actively participated in key decisions of the company, including providing corporate level approval and oversight of strategic and investment decisions. Prior to joining AES, Mr. Santoroski worked for several years at New York State Electric and Gas as an engineer and energy trader.

Mr. Garside joins American Capital after serving as an Operating Partner of Potomac Energy Fund, a private equity firm focused on growth capital for the energy and natural resource markets, where he led and managed portfolio company investments. Mr. Garside previously served as Vice President, Special Projects and Managing Director, New Business Development and mergers and acquisitions at AES. During his time at AES, he focused on critical corporate initiatives including capital restructuring, international growth strategy, operations, overall corporate cost structure and organization. Prior to joining AES, Mr. Garside held a number of senior roles at private equity firms where he focused on leveraged buyouts, growth equity and venture investments in energy.

American Capital is a publicly traded private equity firm and global asset manager that originates, underwrites and manages investments of $10 million to $500 million in middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate and structured products. Founded in 1986, American Capital has $118 billion in total assets under management and has seven offices in the US, Europe and Asia (www.AmericanCapital.com).

© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-1-12

GE Capital Backs Latest Arbor Investments Acquisition

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GE Capital, Corporate Finance was the administrative agent on a $105 million cash flow credit facility to Columbus Manufacturing, a producer of premium-branded specialty Italian cured meats. The financing is being used to support the acquisition of Columbus Manufacturing by Arbor Investments.

“GE Capital continues to make significant commitments to food and beverage companies,” said Ryan McKenzie, a partner at Arbor Investments. “Their industry expertise and experience certainly facilitates the financing process.” Arbor invests in the food, beverage and related industries. The firm has acquired or invested in over 30 food and beverage companies in North America and currently has $700 million of assets under management across three funds. Arbor was founded in 1999 and is based in Chicago (www.arborpic.com).

Columbus Manufacturing is a branded manufacturer of retail ready, super premium, artisanal salumi and related deli meat products. Salumi are Italian cured meat products and predominantly made from pork (Editor’s note: “salami” is the plural of “salame” which is a type of “salumi”). Products are sold through supermarkets, club stores and specialty grocery stores across North America. Columbus operates three manufacturing facilities in the San Francisco area occupying more than 270,000 square feet and has the capability to manufacture a wide variety of products such as finocchiona, genoa and calabrese salame. The company was established by the Domenici and Parducci families in 1917 and is headquartered in Hayward, CA (www.columbussalame.com).

“Whether for organic growth or acquisitions, our dedicated food and beverage specialists understand how to structure financing solutions to support our customers’ strategic goals,” said Chris Nay, senior managing director, GE Capital, Corporate Finance. “We strive to provide smarter, business-building capital to middle market food and beverage clients.”

GE Capital, Corporate Finance provides asset-based, cash flow and structured loans and leases to mid-size and large U.S. businesses. Sectors of interest include: aerospace and defense; automotive and transportation; chemicals and plastics; construction and building products, corporate aircraft; energy; food and beverage; manufacturing; marine; metals and mining; paper, packaging and forest products; retail; and technology and electronics (www.gecapital.com).

© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-1-12

Todd Spener Joins FTL Capital as Business Development Managing Director

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FTL Capital has hired Todd Spener as a new Managing Director. Mr. Spener will be responsible for leading business development activities at FTL with a focus on generating new investments and providing capital market insights. Mr. Spener will also participate in FTL’s transaction evaluations and portfolio company operating efforts while serving as a member of the firm’s Management Committee.

“We are pleased to have attracted a person with Todd’s depth of capability and experience to our team,” said Thomas Hillman, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of FTL. “He brings decades of experience in various business development roles in the financial services sector including assisting FTL in financing its second acquisition in 2003 of what became AWHR America’s Water Heater Rentals,” added Mr. Hillman.

Mr. Spener most recently served as Managing Director, Strategic Marketing & Business Development, at General Electric Capital Corporation, where he led strategic growth initiatives in middle-market leverage finance. He also led business development deal teams to originate and close senior credit facilities to middle-market companies in the Midwest. Prior to GE, Mr. Spener held various management positions within Carreden Group, Charter Financial, Optex Communications, and Bell Atlantic. He holds an Executive MBA from Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas Christian University.

FTL Capital is a private equity management and investment company that invests the capital of its Managing Principals, Thomas Hillman and Paul Melnuk, and uses its expertise to help businesses grow profitably over the long term. FTL also makes opportunistic minority investments in other projects in situations where FTL, while not having control, will be in positions of influence to direct strategic decisions. FTL Capital was founded in 2001 and is based in St. Louis (www.ftlcapital.com).

© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-1-12

TowerBrook Capital Partners Invests in Vistage International

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TowerBrook Capital Partners has acquired a majority interest in Vistage International, a for-profit peer-advisory membership organization of CEOs and business executives. Education Growth Partners co-invested with TowerBrook in this transaction.

“TowerBrook and Education Growth Partners both have a track record of success in helping grow the companies they invest in. I am confident that they understand and appreciate the distinct value Vistage provides to CEOs and other senior executives through our professionally-facilitated peer-advisory experience, and I am eager to work with both firms to help facilitate the next phase of Vistage’s growth and expansion,” said Rafael Pastor, CEO of Vistage.

Vistage International is a peer-advisory membership organization serving more than 16,000 CEOs and senior level executives in 15 countries. Vistage members participate in professionally-facilitated peer-advisory board meetings, receive one-to-one coaching, learn from expert speakers, and interact among a global network of business leaders from a broad range of industries. The company was founded in 1957 as TEC (The Executive Committee) and is based in San Diego (www.vistage.com).

“Vistage is a high-quality, market-leading business with a strong and loyal membership base and an excellent management team. We believe the company has tremendous potential, and we look forward to helping to grow this unique community of Chairs, members and speakers both in the U.S. and internationally,” said Brian Jacobsen, Managing Director of TowerBrook.

TowerBrook Capital Partners has $4.5 billion of capital under management and makes control investments in large and middle market companies located in North America and Europe. The firm has offices in New York, London, and San Francisco (www.towerbrook.com).

Education Growth Partners was founded in 2010 by education investors Peter Campbell and Christopher Curran. The firm makes investments of $5 million to $30 million in companies with at least $5 million of annual revenue in the Pre-K12, higher education, corporate training and lifelong learning sectors. Education Growth Partners has offices in Stamford, CT and Boston, MA (www.edgrowthpartners.com).

“The Vistage team has built an exceptional business and community. We are excited to partner with TowerBrook and Vistage management to continue to strengthen and grow the business and the community,” said Peter Campbell, Managing Partner of Education Growth Partners.

© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-1-12

GTCR Acquires Premium Credit

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GTCR has acquired Premium Credit, a provider of third party insurance premium finance services in the UK and Ireland, from MBNA Europe, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. GTCR’s investment in Premium Credit was funded from GTCR Fund X, a private equity fund raised in 2011 with $3.25 billion of committed capital.

GTCR is partnering with new CEO Andrew Doman and the existing management of Premium Credit to recapitalize the company and further invest in the company’s technology and services offerings. Mr. Doman is the former Chairman and CEO of Russell Investments and Head of Insurance Consulting at McKinsey & Co. London. “GTCR’s investment is a strong endorsement of the attractive business built by Premium Credit’s management and employees over many years,” said Mr. Doman. “Premium Credit has strong customer relationships and a tremendous quality of service orientation. I am excited to join such a talented team and look forward to growing the franchise.”

Premium Credit works in partnership with a network of insurance brokers and carriers to enable businesses and individuals to pay insurance premiums in installments rather than a single annual payment. The company also provides payment facilitation and financing services for professional fees, school fees, membership subscriptions and other commercial services. Across its business lines, Premium Credit participates in processing and funding more than 22 million transactions annually associated with approximately £3 billion in payment volume for approximately 2 million customers. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Epsom, Surrey, UK with a second office in Dublin, Ireland (www.premium-credit.co.uk).

“We are thrilled to complete the acquisition of Premium Credit. Our extensive experience in insurance services, payment processing, and specialty finance provides GTCR with a unique perspective on the company and its opportunities going forward,” said Collin Roche, Managing Director at GTCR. “We look forward to supporting Andrew Doman and the management team’s efforts to drive product expansion and continued technology investment in Premium Credit’s operations and service delivery. We will also selectively evaluate building on the company’s success through acquisitions as well as geographic expansion opportunities in Europe and North America.”

The acquisition of Premium Credit was supported by a consortium of banks including Barclays Capital, Lloyds Banking Group, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Société Générale. Barclays Capital and the Kessler Group advised GTCR on the transaction. Kirkland & Ellis and Mayer Brown International served as legal counsel to GTCR.

GTCR pioneered the investment strategy of identifying and partnering with executives to acquire and build companies through a combination of acquisitions and internal growth. The firm currently has nearly $7 billion in assets under management. Since its inception in 1980, GTCR has invested more than $10 billion in over 200 companies. GTCR is based in Chicago (www.gtcr.com).

© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-1-12