Archives for February 12, 2013

Morgan Joseph TriArtisan Places New Senior Financing for Versa’s Civitas Media

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The Financial Restructuring Investment Banking Group of Morgan Joseph TriArtisan has completed the placement of $62.5 million in senior credit facilities for Civitas Media, a portfolio company of Versa Capital Management.  The $62.5 million multi-bank senior term loan and revolving credit facility is led by RBS Citizens.

“With this transaction, Civitas has the financial strength to focus on opportunities for its editorial and advertising professionals to serve their local communities,” said James (“Jim”) Decker, Head of Morgan Joseph’s Financial Restructuring Group. “The new company is now well positioned for growth.” In addition to Mr. Decker, the Morgan Joseph team members involved in implementing the transaction included Jay Jacquin and Alex Fisch, Directors, and James Hadfield, Vice President.

Morgan Joseph TriArtisan is an investment and merchant bank engaged in providing financial advice, capital raising and private equity investing. The firm’s services include mergers, acquisitions and restructuring advice, in addition to private placements and public offerings of equity and debt. Morgan Joseph TriArtisan is based in New York (www.mjta.com).

Versa Capital Management formed Civitas Media in September 2012 to consolidate the four community news media entities owned by Versa:  Freedom Central, four daily newspapers in Illinois, Ohio and Missouri; Heartland Publications, 17 daily and 29 weekly papers across Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia; Ohio Community Media, with 13 daily and 30 weekly publications across the state of Ohio; and Impressions Media, which operates the Wilkes Barre Times Leader and other local publications in the northeastern Pennsylvania area.  Civitas Media employs 1,650 people at 99 locations across 12 states in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and South.

Versa Capital Management invests in special situations involving middle market companies with revenues in the $100 million to $1 billion range or assets of $25 million to $500 million. The firm has $1.2 billion of capital under management and is based in Philadelphia (www.versa.com).

“We have assembled an excellent group of community news publishers over the past 15 months and combining them together under the Civitas umbrella is a logical and value-enhancing result,” said Versa’s CEO, Gregory Segall. “Community-based media has remained profitable and largely avoided the level of financial pressure experienced by large daily metros in recent years. They are the principal source of information and news content as well as the primary advertising vehicles for their communities, whether in print or online, and we see a more stable and resilient future for this sector.”

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-12-13

Hellman & Friedman Names Three New Partners

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Hellman & Friedman today announced that Hunter Philbrick, Judd Sher, and Tarim Wasim have been promoted to Managing Directors.  Hellman & Friedman has also expanded its team with three new hires.  Philip Meicler and Suzanne Kim have joined the firm as Principals and Rachel Wilson has joined as Associate Counsel.  Hellman & Friedman is looking to add additional Principal level investment professionals this year for both its New York and San Francisco offices.

“These promotions recognize the outstanding contributions all of these individuals have made to Hellman & Friedman,” said Philip Hammarskjold, Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to their continued success at the firm.”

Hunter Philbrick joined Hellman & Friedman in 2003 in the firm’s San Francisco office and relocated to New York in 2005 to help build the New York office. He primarily focuses on healthcare and insurance investments and currently serves on the boards of Pharmaceutical Product Development and Sedgwick.

Judd Sher joined Hellman & Friedman last year as Chief Financial Officer.  He brings over 13 years of experience, most recently as a Principal in Deloitte’s M&A Transaction Services Group, and is responsible for all finance, accounting, and tax matters at the firm.

Tarim Wasim joined the firm in 2005 in the San Francisco office. He primarily focuses on digital media, internet, and business services efforts and currently serves on the board of Internet Brands.

In addition, Hellman & Friedman announced the promotions of Philip Sternheimer to Director and Stephen Ensley to Principal.

Hellman & Friedman invests from $200 million to $750 million in companies across a range of industries including energy & industrials, software, business & marketing services, internet & digital media, financial services, insurance, media, and healthcare. Founded in 1984, the firm has raised and managed over $25 billion of committed capital and invested in over 60 companies. The firm is currently investing its sixth fund, with $8.4 billion of capital commitments. Hellman & Friedman is based in San Francisco with additional offices in London and New York (www.hf.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-12-13

West Monroe Partners Opens New Office in Minneapolis

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West Monroe Partners, a business and technology consultancy, has opened a new office in Minneapolis.  Tom Ewers, a Director who has been with West Monroe Partners for 10 years, will lead the office.

Initially, the new Minneapolis office will focus on merger and acquisition-related services for local industries—particularly private equity, healthcare, and manufacturing and distribution—throughout Minnesota and the upper Midwest.  In addition, it will coordinate a full range of business and technology services for national and international clients with operations in that region.

“Throughout our 10 years in business, we have been very deliberate in establishing and developing offices in markets that demonstrate steady growth potential, and that thoughtful approach has enabled us to be successful in expanding our coverage across North America. Our research and local networking has confirmed that this is a good time for us to devote dedicated resources in Minnesota,” said Kevin McCarty, West Monroe’s president and one of the consultancy’s founding members. “Tom Ewers’ track record for client service and practice development, along with his deep experience in the challenges and opportunities associated with mergers and acquisitions, make him an ideal candidate to develop this new office.”

Prior to opening the Minneapolis office, Mr. Ewers worked in West Monroe Partners’ Seattle office from 2007 to 2012, with responsibility for expanding the firm’s mergers & acquisitions practice to the West Coast. He joined West Monroe Partners in 2002 in Chicago after holding positions with BearingPoint and Arthur Andersen.

“Local companies in the financial services, healthcare payer, high tech and food sectors, among others, are performing well and fueling local growth,” said Mr. Ewers. “These areas of focus fit well with our established industry strengths as a consultancy, as well as with our capability to provide both strategic and technology solutions.”

West Monroe Partners is a North American, business and technology consulting firm focused on guiding organizations through projects that fundamentally transform their business. The firm has more than 350 consulting professionals in its offices in Chicago, Seattle, New York, Columbus, Dallas, Minneapolis, Montreal, and Toronto (www.westmonroepartners.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-12-13

Huron Capital and Exium Invest in Six Month Smiles

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Huron Capital Partners and Exium Partners have made an investment in Six Month Smiles, a provider of adult cosmetic orthodontics.

Six Month Smiles provides cosmetic orthodontic solutions as a turnkey program for general practitioner dentists, enabling them to treat patients with an alternative to both comprehensive orthodontics and aligner products for correcting crooked teeth in four to nine months.  Six Month Smiles serves the large population of adults who desire straighter teeth for cosmetic purposes, yet do not want to deal with the treatment length, higher cost or poor appearance associated with traditional braces. The company was founded in 2006 by Dr. Ryan Swain and is based in Scottsville, NY (www.6monthsmiles.com). 

Huron and Exium Partners plan to continue growing the business through geographic expansion and new product offerings.  “Six Month Smiles has a proven management team, a scalable business model, a dedicated employee base, and loyal customers,” said Huron Partner, Nick Barker.  “We are excited to be partnering with the Six Month Smiles management team and working with them in growing the business going forward.” 

The Six Month Smiles transaction builds on Huron’s prior experience and success investing in the business services market and is the culmination of an active effort to identify investments specifically in the dental market.  Huron’s investment in Six Month Smiles was made through The Huron Fund III L.P., a $350 million private equity fund which closed in 2008. 

Huron Capital Partners invests up to $70 million per transaction in middle market companies that have revenues up to $200 million and EBITDAs of $5 million or more.  Sectors of interest include education & training, healthcare, specialty chemicals, specialty packaging, consumer products, home décor, business services, industrial manufacturing, food & beverage, and marketing services.  Since its founding in 1999, Huron has acquired or invested in 61 companies with aggregate revenues in excess of $1 billion. Huron Capital currently manages over $1.1 billion in committed equity through four private equity funds, and has offices in Detroit and Toronto (www.huroncapital.com).

Exium Partners invests in lower middle-market companies located in the United States and Canada that have revenues of $5 million to $100 million and EBITDAs of $2 million to $20 million. The firm is an industry generalist but has specific interest in the business services, software, digital media, manufacturing, telecommunications, and financial technology and services sectors.  Exium Partners is based in Fairport, NY (www.exiumpartners.com). 

“We’re excited about this investment,” said Dr. Swain.  “Six Month Smiles has grown rapidly over the past several years and this is the right time for us to reinvest in market expansion. As we continue to lead the market with our Short Term Ortho system, we believe the operational experience from our new investors will help us reach new heights.” 

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-12-13

CCMP Capital Advisors Acquires Mold-Masters

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Milacron, a plastics processer and a provider of fluids to the metalworking and packaging industries and a portfolio company of CCMP Capital Advisors, has acquired Mold-Masters, a provider of hot runner technology and systems.  Under the terms of the transaction, Milacron will acquire 100% of the shares of Mold-Masters for an enterprise value of C$975 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2013. 

“This transaction is a major step in Milacron’s strategic growth plan which reinforces our support of the company’s exciting prospects and our commitment to leveraging our extensive experience in the plastics industry to help Milacron maximize its global market opportunities and increase its value to customers,” said Tim Walsh, a Managing Director of CCMP Capital Advisors.

Mold-Masters is a supplier of hot runner technology and systems. A hot runner system is an assembly of heated components used in plastic injection molds that inject molten plastic into the cavities of the mold. The company designs, manufactures and supports a full range of hot runner products, including hot runner systems, temperature controllers, hot halves and gating technologies. The company has manufacturing facilities in North America, South America, Europe, India and Asia.  Mold-Masters was founded in 1963 and is based in Georgetown, Ontario (www.moldmasters.com). 

Milacron manufactures and supplies a range of machinery and turnkey systems through its two key business areas—plastics-processing technologies and metalworking fluids.  The company’s business units include Milacron Plastics Machinery, Ferromatik Milacron, DME, Uniloy, Milacron Americas Aftermarket, and CIMCOOL Fluid Technology.  Milacron has 22 facilities and over 2,700 employees.  The company is based in Cincinnati (www.milacron.com). 

Tom Goeke, Chief Executive Officer of Milacron will lead the combined entity and Bill Barker, President and CEO of Mold Masters, will continue to lead that business. 

“The acquisition creates a global leader in the plastics industry with the scale, technological leadership, international presence and competitive positioning to deliver a wide range of products and services to more customers in more markets around the world,” said Mr. Goeke.

“Mold-Masters’ expertise in the high-growth hot-runner market is second to none, and we are excited by the unique customer value proposition and numerous opportunities for growth that will result from this combination.  Bill Barker, his management team and all of his employees share our commitment to excellence. We are thrilled that they will continue to lead the Mold-Masters business going forward and are excited to welcome them to our team.” 

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-12-13

CapStreet Acquires T.F. Hudgins

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The CapStreet Group has acquired T.F. Hudgins, a manufacturer of engineered products and services primarily to process industries and third-party manufacturers. 

T.F. Hudgins is a manufacturer of components used in gas compressors, centrifugal pumps and other machinery used at refining, petrochemical and gas processing facilities. The company also offers centrifugal filtration devices designed to increase the efficiency and longevity of heavy-duty diesel engines utilized in harsh operating environments, including trucking, mining, and enhanced oil and gas recovery technologies such as hydraulic fracturing.  T.F. Hudgins was founded in 1947 and has just over 100 employees with operations in Houston (headquarters) and New Orleans as well as sales and distribution subsidiaries in Venezuela and Australia (www.tfhudgins.com). 

“T.F. Hudgins’ business model is an excellent fit with CapStreet’s industry experience,” said Mike Young, a CapStreet partner.  “The company and its management team bring a legacy of long-term relationships with some of the most respected customers in the industry.  We are excited about this opportunity to help them build the business organically and through strategic acquisitions.” 

CapStreet targets companies with EBITDA’s between $5 million and $15 million and works closely with the management of these companies to help build much larger and more profitable enterprises. Since founding in 1990, CapStreet has raised approximately $700 million of private equity, completed 34 portfolio company investments and completed more than 250 add-on acquisitions for these companies. The firm is based in Houston (www.capstreet.com). 

“We are proud of our history of service, profitability, and industry leadership. Now is the ideal time to accelerate our growth, and we are excited to have a firm like CapStreet providing the financial resources and expertise in distribution, marketing and management to support our objectives,” said T.F. Hudgins President and CEO Ted Edwards. 

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-12-13