Archives for March 18, 2014

Avista Capital Partners Acquires IDQ

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Armored AutoGroup, a manufacturer of car care products primarily under the Armor All and STP brands and a portfolio company of Avista Capital Partners, has acquired IDQ Acquisition Corp. from Kinderhook Industries. Avista Capital Partners acquired Armored AutoGroup in 2010 from Clorox.

IDQ is a manufacturer of do-it-yourself air conditioner recharge products. Products include air conditioning recharge and retrofit kits, premium refrigerant blends, specialty chemicals, straight refrigerants and a range of complementary do-it-yourself and professional-use items. IDQ products are branded under labels including A/C PRO, Arctic Freeze, Sub Zero and Super Seal Stop Leak and are sold through approximately 25,000 retail stores. IDQ is headquartered just outside of Dallas in Garland, TX. The company also has an office in Tarrytown, NY that houses financial functions, marketing, R&D, customer service, and sales (www.idqusa.com).

In connection with the transaction, Dave Lundstedt, who has served as Chairman and CEO of Armored AutoGroup since its separation from Clorox in 2010, will be named Chairman of the combined business and Michael Klein, CEO of IDQ, will be named CEO. Guy Andrysick, Executive Vice President of Armored AutoGroup, will be Executive Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing of the combined business. Gerry Rooney, Chief Financial Officer of IDQ, will serve as Executive Vice President of Operations and lead integration efforts. Andy Bolt, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Armored AutoGroup, will serve as Executive Vice President and CFO of the combined business.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the combined Armored AutoGroup and IDQ. The unified company is well-positioned to deliver value to our customers, employees and financial stakeholders through our industry-leading product portfolio, including the iconic Armor All and STP brands as well as A/C PRO, Arctic Freeze and Sub Zero,” said Mr. Klein. “Leveraging Armored AutoGroup’s international infrastructure will help to drive actionable, near-term growth opportunities for IDQ’s products. As we begin to execute upon our growth strategy for the combined business, I am grateful to have the benefit of Dave Lundstedt’s counsel, given his long history of success in the automotive aftermarket industry.”

Jefferies (www.jefferies.com) acted as the sole financial advisor and solicitation agent to IDQ in this transaction. According to Jeffries, the sale of IDQ to Armored AutoGroup represents a franchise-building transaction for Jefferies’ Consumer practice and demonstrates the value of Jefferies’ strategic and sponsor relationships and the firm’s ability to leverage its creativity and capabilities on behalf of its clients.

JPMorgan (www.jpmorgan.com) and BTG Pactual (www.btgpactual.com) advised Armored AutoGroup on the transaction.

Avista Capital Partners, with over $5 billion of capital under management, makes control or influential minority investments in growth-oriented energy, healthcare, communications & media, industrials, and consumer businesses. The firm was founded in 2005 and is based in New York with offices in Houston and London (www.avistacap.com).

“This transaction represents another important step toward realizing our vision for Armored AutoGroup by creating one of the largest and best-positioned consumer products companies in the automotive aftermarket,” said David Burgstahler, Partner and President of Avista, and David Durkin, Partner of Avista, in a released statement.

Kinderhook Industries makes control investments in companies with transaction values of $10 million to $75 million in which the firm can achieve financial, operational and growth improvements. Kinderhook pursues private equity investments in non-core divisions of public companies, management buyouts of entrepreneurial-owned businesses, troubled situations and existing small capitalization companies lacking institutional support. The firm, founded in 2003, has $770 million of committed capital and is based in New York (www.kinderhook.com).

“Kinderhook is very proud of the accomplishments of IDQ’s management team and employees, led by Michael Klein and Gerry Rooney, during our partnership with them, and we expect the company to continue to flourish as part of Armored AutoGroup. The sale of IDQ illustrates Kinderhook’s investment strategy of partnering with strong management teams to build successful companies that attract high-quality strategic buyers,” said Chris Michalik and Tom Tuttle, Managing Directors at Kinderhook.

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 3-18-14

Inverness Graham Sells ICCNexergy to KRG Capital

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Inverness Graham has sold its portfolio company ICCNexergy, a designer and manufacture of rechargeable power systems, to KRG Capital Partners.

ICCNexergy is a developer and manufacturer of rechargeable power systems that integrate lithium-ion battery packs, battery chargers, docking stations and power supplies for applications in the medical, data server/storage, prosumer (professional-consumer) electronics, safety/security, data acquisition, and military/aerospace industries. The company was founded in 1967 and has approximately 1,500 employees. ICCNexergy has 300,000 square feet of owned manufacturing space and is headquartered near Chicago in Westchester, IL (www.iccnexergy.com).

Inverness Graham invests in lower middle market value-added manufacturing and service companies with EBITDA’s between $3 million and $10 million and enterprise values of less than $75 million. The firm manages $250 million in capital commitments and was formed by senior executives of the Graham Group, an industrial and investment concern with global interests in plastics, packaging, recycling, building products and outsourced manufacturing. Inverness Graham is based near Philadelphia in Newtown Square, PA (www.invernessgraham.com).

Harris Williams & Co. (www.harriswilliams.com) acted as the exclusive advisor to ICCNexergy. The transaction team for Harris Williams was led by John Neuner, Bob Baltimore, David Allebach and Josh Garner.

“ICCNexergy has built an industry leading platform in the high growth lithium-ion rechargeable power systems space,” said John Neuner, a managing director at Harris Williams & Co. “Under Inverness Graham’s ownership, ICCNexergy transformed itself through acquisitions and a strong organic growth strategy to become a unique, single-source provider of customized, highly engineered power systems to a number of very attractive end markets that include medical, data server and storage, data collection and measurement, energy and power.”

“Inverness Graham and the management team at ICCNexergy brought together two leading companies through the 2010 merger of ICC and Nexergy and did a tremendous job integrating the businesses to position ICCNexergy for strong growth in the future,” said Bob Baltimore, a managing director at Harris Williams & Co. “Since the merger, the company has continued to invest in expanding its capabilities and broadening an already talented management team to enhance its strong platform for future organic and acquisition growth.”

KRG Capital specializes in acquiring and recapitalizing unique and profitable middle-market companies. Since inception, KRG has invested in 45 platform companies and has completed 149 add-on acquisitions for those platforms. Founded in 1996, KRG has over $4 billion of capital under management and is based in Denver (www.krgcapital.com).

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 3-18-14

Clearview Capital Acquires Young at Heart

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Active Day/Senior Care, a portfolio company of Clearview Capital, has completed the acquisition of Young at Heart, a senior care facility located in Brick Township, NJ. Consistent with Clearview’s branding process, the name of the newly acquired center has been changed to Senior Care of Brick. With this acquisition, Active Day/Senior Care now operates 12 adult day health centers in New Jersey.

“Senior Care’s twelfth acquisition cements the company’s dominant position in New Jersey”, said James Andersen, Clearview Capital’s Co-Managing Partner. “As the pipeline of targets continues to grow management expects growth by acquisition to remain an important part of the company’s strategy.”

Active Day/Senior Care is a provider of adult day health services with more than 75 centers in eleven states. Designed to be a cost effective alternative to home health services, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, the company’s centers offer a daytime program of nursing care, social services, meals and recreational activities to elderly and disabled adults. The company is headquartered near Philadelphia in Trevose, PA (www.seniorcarectrs.com).

In addition to its investment in Active Day/Senior Care and the adult daycare market, Clearview Capital is actively seeking to add to its other health care services investments in St. Croix Hospice, a provider of end-of-life palliative care for patients suffering from a life-limiting illness or terminal disease; Child Health Holdings (dba Pediatric Health Choice), an operator of Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care centers for medically complex children; and Pyramid Healthcare, a provider of substance abuse and mental health treatment programs for adults and adolescents.

Clearview Capital was founded in 1999 by Jim Andersen and Cal Neider and is headquartered in Old Greenwich, CT with additional offices in Chicago and Los Angeles (www.ClearviewCap.com).

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 3-18-14

GTCR Launches New Life Sciences Platform

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GTCR has entered into a partnership with Carl Hull and Eric Tardif to form Maravai Life Sciences. The new platform will focus on acquiring companies and products in the in-vitro diagnostics and life sciences industry as part of a strategy to build a market leading healthcare business.

“We are very excited to partner with Carl and Eric to build a leading company in the diagnostics and life sciences industry,” said GTCR Managing Director Dean Mihas. “They have exceptional track records of thoughtful leadership and value creation. Their expertise, strategic vision and operational abilities make them ideal partners as GTCR commits to a platform in this attractive industry.” GTCR will support Maravai by investing up to $300 million of equity capital from GTCR Fund X, a private equity fund with $3.25 billion of equity capital commitments.

Mr. Hull is a thirty-year veteran of the diagnostic and life sciences industry. Prior to partnering with GTCR, Mr. Hull was Chief Executive Officer of Gen-Probe, a molecular diagnostic company which was sold in 2012 to Hologic for $3.7 billion. Prior to his time at Gen-Probe, he held a number of executive roles at various diagnostics and life sciences companies, including Applied Biosystems, Ventana Medical Systems and Abbott Laboratories.

Eric Tardif joined Mr. Hull at Gen-Probe as Senior Vice President after spending over a decade covering life sciences clients at Morgan Stanley and other firms. At Gen-Probe, Mr. Tardif was responsible for establishing corporate strategy, evaluating and executing all mergers and acquisitions, including Gen-Probe’s sale to Hologic.

“I am thrilled about the opportunity to work with GTCR to build Maravai into an industry leader in the diagnostics and life sciences space,” said Mr. Hull. “The firm has a long history of backing experienced CEOs and providing them with the resources and support to build successful companies through both organic growth and acquisitions. GTCR has been actively evaluating opportunities and developing a unique expertise in diagnostics and life sciences. With our partnership, Maravai is well positioned to benefit from the firm’s deep domain knowledge and expertise.”

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 $11 billion in assets under management. Since its inception in 1980, GTCR has invested more than $10 billion in over 200 companies. The firm is based in Chicago (www.gtcr.com).

“GTCR’s formation of Maravai demonstrates our interest in investing additional capital in a dynamic and growing segment of healthcare,” said Ben Daverman, Vice President at GTCR. “We are actively looking for acquisitions and believe there will continue to be a number of compelling investment opportunities in the market. Working with Maravai, we are in a unique position to evaluate and pursue these investments.”

Maravai Life Sciences is headquartered in San Diego (www.maravai.com).

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 3-18-14

J.H. Whitney Pro Joins Oak Hill

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Brian Cherry has joined Oak Hill Capital Management as the firm’s newest partner. Mr. Cherry has 18 years of investment experience, most recently as a Senior Managing Director of J.H. Whitney & Co. Mr. Cherry will focus primarily on Oak Hill Capital’s investment activity in the Industrials sector.

“We are delighted to welcome Brian to the team and to expand our reach in Industrials, one of our core industry sectors,” said Tyler Wolfram, a Managing Partner of Oak Hill Capital. “Brian is a talented and experienced investment professional who will enhance the firm’s capabilities and our ability to pursue highly-targeted investment opportunities that align with our disciplined, theme-based origination strategy. We look forward to Brian’s future contributions to the firm.”

Prior to joining J.H. Whitney in 2000, Mr. Cherry began his career at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where he was a member of the merchant banking group. Mr. Cherry earned an AB degree from Princeton University and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

“I am pleased to join Oak Hill Capital. This is a remarkable opportunity to join the highly successful Oak Hill Capital franchise, to expand its investment activities in the industrials sector, and to continue to drive value at existing companies within the portfolio,” said Mr. Cherry. “I look forward to working alongside a seasoned team of professionals and contributing to the firm’s longstanding record of successful private equity investing.”

Oak Hill Capital Partners has $8 billion of committed capital and invests in the following sectors six sectors: basic industries; business and financial services; consumer, retail & distribution; healthcare; media & telecom; and technology. Over the past 25 years, the professionals at Oak Hill Capital Partners and its predecessors have invested in more than 70 private equity transactions. The firm is located in Stamford, CT (www.oakhillcapital.com).

“For nearly thirty years, we have been committed to investing in our human capital as part of the firm’s evolution. Brian’s many years of private equity investing experience will complement our team and enhance our capabilities,” said J. Taylor Crandall, a Managing Partner and founder of Oak Hill Capital. “We welcome Brian into the Oak Hill Capital partnership.”

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 3-18-14

CalPERS Adds $200 Million for Emerging Managers

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The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has announced that it will allocate an additional $200 million to its emerging manager program in the private equity asset class. CalPERS will utilize a new fund-of-funds to deploy the capital, focusing on high-potential emerging manager funds.

“This new allocation is a reflection of CalPERS ongoing commitment to emerging and diverse managers,” said Ted Eliopoulos, CalPERS Interim Chief Investment Officer. “Our goal is to generate appropriate, risk-adjusted investment returns by identifying early stage funds with strong potential for success.”

The new allocation will be deployed over four years and is in addition to a $100 million commitment made in 2012. The selection of a manager to head the fund-of-funds will be completed by CalPERS investment staff later in the year. CalPERS has nearly $12 billion invested with 395 emerging managers across all of its emerging manager programs.

CalPERS is the largest public pension fund in the US with more than $280 billion in assets. CalPERS administers health and retirement benefits on behalf of 3,064 public school, local agency and state employers. There are more than 1.6 million members in the CalPERS retirement system and more than 1.3 million in its health plans (www.calpers.ca.gov).

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 3-18-14