Archives for April 3, 2013

Wind Point Acquires Clondalkin Packaging Division

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Hilex Poly, a manufacturer and recycler of plastic retail carry out bags and film products and a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners, has acquired portions of the North American Flexible Packaging division of the Clondalkin Group. The businesses that Hilex Poly has acquired are Fortune Plastics, Accutech Plastics and Direct Plastics Limited.

Fortune Plastics extrudes and converts plastic flexible packaging products, including can liners and bags, used in foodservice and industrial applications. The company has four production facilities in Connecticut, Tennessee, Florida and Arizona. Fortune Plastics was founded in 1955 and is based in Lebanon, TN (www.fortuneplastics.com).

Accutech manufactures polyethylene film products used in food, beverage, automotive, agricultural, advertising, medical and industrial applications. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Coldwater, OH (www.accutechfilms.com).

Direct Plastics is a flexible packaging convertor specializing in pre-press graphic design, flexographic printing, laminating, slitting and bag converting. The company is based in Orangeville, Ontario (www.directplasticsgroup.com).

Hilex Poly is the nation’s largest manufacturer of plastic shopping bags, produce bags and related bags and films. Hilex has 10 manufacturing facilities across the U.S, producing over 35 billion bags annually for customers including Wal-Mart, Kroger, Publix, K-Mart, Foot Locker and Dollar General. Hilex operates the only closed-loop bag recycling operation in the U.S. and has the ability to take previously used bags, process them, blend them with virgin resin, and make new bags with a significantly higher percentage of post-consumer content than its competitors. The company is headquartered in Hartsville, SC (www.hilexpoly.com).

“We are extremely pleased to welcome the employees of these companies to Hilex. They have developed a great customer base and bring a tremendous new range of product offerings to Hilex that we will continue to expand. In addition, the progressive work undertaken by Hilex in the plastic bag and wrap recycling market can now be expanded to an even wider portfolio of flexible packaging products,” said Stan Bikulege, Chairman & CEO of Hilex. “We also appreciate the strong support of Wind Point Partners; they understand the importance of this North American manufacturing sector and are highly supportive of this next phase of our growth.”

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 $2.5 billion in capital under management and has completed more than 90 investments and 161 add-on acquisitions across its seven private equity funds. Wind Point Partners is based in Chicago (www.wppartners.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-3-13

MidOcean Acquires Noranco

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MidOcean Partners has acquired, along with co-investors, a significant equity position in Noranco, a supplier of machined and sheet metal components for the commercial and military aerospace markets.

Noranco is a supplier of complex machined and sheet metal components, assemblies, and kits for OEMs and Tier I suppliers in the landing gear, aero-structures, and aero engines markets. The company focuses solely on the aerospace industry, covering commercial/regional jet, business jet and military/rotorcraft markets. Key customers include Honeywell, United Technologies, Bombardier, Messier-Dowty and Spirit AeroSystems. Noranco is headquartered in Toronto (www.noranco.com).

“Noranco is a company with tremendous technical expertise in producing advanced precision-machined components for the aerospace industry. It serves a broad customer base and a broad base of aerospace platforms, including OEM platforms produced by Boeing, Bombardier, and Airbus,” said Frank Nash, a MidOcean Managing Director. “We anticipate leveraging its impressive capabilities and management team by providing the capital to allow Noranco to continue to support the growth of its customers and to add new capabilities, customers and supported platforms to those Noranco already has.”

With the acquisition of Noranco, Michael Baughan, a MidOcean Executive Board member and former President and COO of B/E Aerospace, will become Chairman of Noranco.

“Noranco is extremely pleased to have completed this transaction with MidOcean Partners. Our position as a leader within this segment of aerospace has been formulated upon great people, precision products, integrated operational excellence, and a world class customer portfolio,” said Noranco CEO David Camilleri. “With the strategic and financial support of MidOcean and its investor group, alongside a very positive market outlook for aerospace, Noranco can now rapidly move forward with the execution of its robust growth strategy.”

MidOcean Partners is a private equity firm focused on the middle market. Industries of interest include consumer, business and media services, and industrial services. The firm has offices in New York and London (www.midoceanpartners.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-3-13

Arsenal Capital Partners Closes Third Fund Above Target at $875 Million

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Arsenal Capital Partners has completed fundraising for Arsenal Capital Fund III LP (“Fund III”) with $875 million of committed capital, exceeding its target of $750 million. The firm’s previous fund, Arsenal Capital Partners II LP, was raised in 2006 with $500 million of committed capital. Arsenal now has over $1.6 billion of committed capital under management. Arsenal has already completed four platform investments and deployed approximately $195 million of equity capital in Fund III.

“We are delighted to have surpassed our expectations for Fund III and achieved a 75% increase in committed capital from our last fund. We sincerely thank all our investors for their tremendous support,” said Terrence Mullen, Co-founder and Partner at Arsenal. “We are very gratified by the investors’ response, citing the institutional quality of our firm committed to the opportunities and needs of the lower middle market, our leading franchises in specialty industrials and healthcare, and track record of building high performance companies.”

Arsenal Capital Partners makes investments in middle-market specialty industrial, healthcare and financial services companies with $50 million to $250 million in enterprise value. The firm invests in niche industry sectors where it has prior experience and where its operating resources can help facilitate incremental growth and margin improvement. Industries of specific interest include: specialty & fine chemicals; segments of healthcare; transportation and logistics; power generation; aerospace & defense; process industry components and services; and financial services. Arsenal has offices in New York and Shanghai (www.arsenalcapital.com).

Fund III’s investor base is international in scope, with approximately half of the institutional investors from the U.S. and the balance from Europe and Asia. The investor base represents a diverse group of endowments and foundations, public and corporate pension plans, financial institutions and family offices, including PKA A/S, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance, PPM America, Northeast Utilities Service Company Retirement Plan, KIRKBI A/S, Partners Capital, Unigestion, Storebrand, Purdue University, funds advised by Bowmark Capital and Cheyenne Capital Fund.

Forbes Private Capital Group served as placement agent for Fund III and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel.

“Fund III is a testament to the talented and experienced team that we have built and honed over 13 years and our strong culture of teamwork and collaborative value creation. Our uncommon balance of investment, industry and operating talent, working in unison enables us to be a partner of choice with management teams who are seeking to achieve differentiated strategic positioning with enhanced capabilities in growth, technology and operations,” said Jeffrey Kovach, a Co-founder and Partner at Arsenal. “With offices in New York and Shanghai and a global team, our international experience and capabilities are a major differentiator in the marketplace. The Arsenal strategy and model continue to win in the market, as evidenced by the 57 investments we have completed since inception.”

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-3-13