Archives for January 15, 2014

Summit Partners Acquires Parts Town

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Summit Partners has made a majority investment in Parts Town, a distributor of repair and maintenance equipment parts for the restaurant and foodservice equipment sectors. Parts Town’s founder Bill Reedy, CEO Steve Snower, and the management team will remain sizeable shareholders in the company.

The strategy of Parts Town is to partner with manufacturers of commercial cooking, refrigeration, ice, and beverage equipment to improve their parts supply chain, improve customer service, and grow parts sales. Parts Town has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of America’s fastest-growing private companies for five consecutive years. Parts Town was founded in 1987 and is based near Chicago in Addison, IL (www.partstown.com).

“Parts Town is changing the distribution channel by providing manufacturing partners with technology, customer service and logistical support to improve sales and customer retention,” said Joe Trustey, a Managing Director with Summit Partners.

Summit Partners provides private equity and venture capital for growth companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $15 billion in capital and has provided equity, recapitalization, and management buyout financing to more than 380 companies across a range of industries. Summit Partners has offices in Boston, Palo Alto, London, and Mumbai (www.summitpartners.com).

“We welcome this partnership with Summit Partners,” said Parts Town CEO Steve Snower. “Our company prides itself on a culture of change, innovation, and accomplishment. Summit shares our core values and the ambition we have for this business. Our new investors bring decades of experience building, growing, and leading world-class companies. I look forward to partnering with them to scale Parts Town to new levels of success.”

Weil Gotshal & Manges provided legal counsel and Ernst & Young provided accounting services to Summit Partners. Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel and Metronome Partners provided financial advisory services to Parts Town.

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-15-14

Encore Consumer Capital Exits Zuke’s

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Encore Consumer Capital has sold its portfolio company Zuke’s LLC, a marketer of dog and cat treats, to Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, the pet care division of Nestlé SA. Encore first invested in Zuke’s in April 2010.

Zuke’s is a marketer of premium all-natural dog and cat treats that are made in the US and sold primarily through the independent pet store channel. The company was founded in 1995 by Patrick Meiering and is based in Durango, CO (www.zukes.com).

“Encore is thrilled to have been a part of developing Zuke’s into a leading brand of premium pet treats in the pet specialty channel. While we will miss working with the incredible management team at Zuke’s, we are excited that Zuke’s will continue to offer the highest-quality pet treats under the stewardship of a trusted organization like Nestlé Purina PetCare,” said Scott Sellers, managing director of Encore Consumer Capital.

Encore Consumer Capital invests exclusively in consumer products companies that have revenues between $10 million and $100 million and where it can utilize its own consumer experience and the expertise of its operating partners at Encore Associates, a strategic advisory firm to the consumer products industry. Encore Consumer Capital was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in San Francisco (www.encoreconsumercapital.com).

“I could not have asked for a better partner than Encore to help take Zuke’s to the next level,” said Zuke’s founder Patrick Meiering. “Encore helped recruit world-class management and sales talent to drive the growth of the Zuke’s brand while staying true to Zuke’s mission of fostering active and healthy devotion between people and pets.”

Cascadia Capital, a mid-market investment bank based in Seattle (www.cascadiacapital.com), acted as financial advisor for Zuke’s. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (www.bhfs.com) acted as legal counsel.

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-15-14

Merifin and Windjammer Exit Maxcess

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Merifin Capital and Windjammer Capital have sold their portfolio company Maxcess International Corporation to Webex, a portfolio company of Bertram Capital. Merifin and Windjammer first invested in Maxcess in 2005. Webex was acquired by Bertram Capital in April 2013.

“Maxcess is a prime example of Windjammer’s focus on investing in niche, category leading businesses that can be improved with a strong collaboration with management and pursuant to a well-planned and properly executed improvement plan. We are very pleased with the results of our investment and our partnership with Merifin Capital,” said Greg Bondick, a Managing Director at Windjammer.

Maxcess is a provider of automation instrumentation products and systems utilized in continuous web-fed converting lines. Maxcess equipment is manufactured in the United States and Europe, and sold globally under the Fife, Tidland and MagPowr brands. The company is headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK (www.maxcessintl.com).

“After completing a significant number of improvement and growth initiatives, we have been able to enhance Maxcess’ value as a strategic platform. It is now a better managed, and a more global, agile and effective business, than it was when we acquired control in 2005 with our partners at Windjammer Capital,” said Cengiz Selman, a Director of Merifin.

Webex – along with its subsidiaries Fox Machining, Magnat-Fairview and PFE Rolls – designs and manufactures custom rolls, machinery and components for a diverse set of customers and manufacturing sectors including: flexible packaging, paper, consumer products, food and beverage, aerospace, pharmaceutical and health care, alternative energy, and general industrial. The company operates four manufacturing facilities located in Wisconsin and Massachusetts. Webex is headquartered in Neenah, WI (www.webexinc.com).

Windjammer makes control investments in middle market businesses with EBITDAs from $10 million to $40 million. Sectors of interest include advanced manufacturing, specialty distribution and business services. The firm has completed investments in 50 platform companies over the past 23 years. Windjammer is currently investing out of its Windjammer Senior Equity Fund IV with capital commitments in excess of $725 million. The firm was founded in 1990 and is based in Newport Beach, CA and Waltham, MA (www.windjammercapital.com).

Merifin invests in early and late stage venture capital, growth capital, management buy-out, and turn-around transactions. The firm was founded in 1988 and has offices in Brussels (headquarters), Geneva, New York, and London (www.merifin.com).

“I speak for the entire management team in my expression of thanks to our sponsors, Merifin and Windjammer,” said Greg Jehlik, the CEO at Maxcess International. “Their strategic guidance has helped Maxcess transform into a highly professionalized and lean organization. While we will miss the interactions with our friends at Windjammer and Merifin, we are delighted that they supported our view that the best future for Maxcess will come from its combination with Webex.”

Maxcess was represented in the transaction by Bill Roman and Jay Hernandez of Harris Williams & Co.

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-15-14

Resilience Capital Partners Acquires Mill City TEC

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Resilience Capital Partners has acquired Mill City TEC, a provider of civil and electrical construction and maintenance services to the wireless industry. Mill City is the second add-on acquisition completed by Aero Communications since being acquired by Resilience in October 2012.

Mill City Communications specializes in providing wireless network services, including cell tower infrastructure upgrades and maintenance, to telecommunications companies and related service partners. The company employs approximately 130 civil and electrical engineers, licensed electricians, construction professionals, project managers and related support personnel operating throughout the Upper Midwestern United States. Mill City is headquartered in Minneapolis (www.millcitytec.com).

Aero Communications provides system design and engineering, construction, wiring, installation, maintenance and repair services to broadband and wireless providers, businesses, public venues, government facilities and residential subscribers. The company employs approximately 1,000 technicians, engineers, customer service and related support personnel in field offices throughout 12 states. Aero Communications was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Canton, MI (www.acidirect.com).

“We welcome the entire Mill City organization to Aero and Resilience. This is a perfect example of a wonderful company in its geography joining forces with a national wireless and cable communication and infrastructure service company to better serve its customers,” said Steven Rosen, Co-CEO of Resilience Capital Partners. “Aero will continue to expand its geography through investment and acquisition in support of its customers in 2014.”

Resilience Capital Partners specializes in investing in middle market companies with $25 million to $250 million in revenues across a range of industries. The firm’s investment strategy is to acquire companies in a variety of special situations including underperformers, corporate divestitures, turnarounds, and orphan public companies. Since its inception in 2001, Resilience has acquired 36 companies under 21 platforms with over $2 billion in revenues. The firm is based in Cleveland (www.resiliencecapital.com).

“The Mill City investment represents a significant step forward in the execution of Aero Communications’ acquisition growth strategy of purchasing businesses with experienced in-house wireless network and construction professionals who provide market-leading services to blue-chip cable and telecommunications customers throughout the United States,” said Michael Cavanaugh, a Partner at Resilience Capital Partners.

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-15-14

Comvest Backs Delos Buy of California Products

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Comvest Partners has provided $16.75 million in debt and equity capital to California Products Corporation, a producer of specialty surface products, to support the acquisition of the company by Delos Capital. Comvest made the new investment through its debt fund, Comvest Capital II, which closed in January 2012 with $250 million of capital commitments.

California Products Corporation (CPC) is a manufacturer of water-based specialty chemical coatings used in consumer and industrial applications, including tennis court and track coatings, consumer paints and stains, and environmental remediation coatings. The company is headquartered in Andover, MA (www.calprocorp.com).

“Comvest understands our business and management’s vision to grow the business, we are pleased to have them as a lender and equity co-investor to the company,” said Peter Longo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CPC.

The Comvest Group provides debt and equity to middle-market companies. For debt investments the firm will invest from $2 million to $20 million per transaction in companies with $10 million to $200 million of revenue that have positive or negative EBITDA. For equity investments the firm will invest from $10 million to $50 million per transaction in companies with $15 million to $500 million of revenue that have positive or negative EBITDA. Since 2000, Comvest has invested more than $1.7 billion of capital in over 120 public and private companies worldwide. The firm is based in West Palm Beach (www.comvest.com).

“We are fortunate to work with the outstanding executive team at CPC and hope this is the first of many transactions with Delos,” said Jared Grigg, Principal at Comvest Partners.

Delos Capital invests in North America-based lower middle-market companies in the chemicals, packaging, industrials, and consumer sectors. The firm was founded in 2013 by Matthew Constantino, a former managing partner of Vision Capital. Delos Capital is based in New York.

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-15-14