Archives for April 24, 2014

H.I.G. Exits Vaupell

by

H.I.G. Capital has completed the sale of its investment Vaupell through a exit to Sumitomo Bakelite for $265 million.  “H.I.G. has been a tremendous partner to Vaupell and has been instrumental in helping us establish and execute our growth strategy,” said Joe Jahn, Chief Executive Officer of Vaupell.

“We are very proud of what we have accomplished together with the Vaupell management team,” commented Jeff Zanarini, a Managing Director of H.I.G. “The company achieved significant revenue and EBITDA growth during our ownership, which yielded an outstanding investment outcome for Vaupell management, H.I.G. and its investors. We have every confidence that the company will continue its pioneering leadership as a member of the Sumitomo Bakelite Aerospace division.”

Vaupell designs, engineers, and produces custom, high performance engineered plastic and composite components and assemblies for demanding applications. The company is a global leader in plastics components and assemblies for aircraft interiors while also serving the broader aerospace, defense, medical, and commercial markets. Vaupell provides engineered solutions to top tier OEM’s, market-leading growth companies, and promising start-ups. Vaupell was founded in Seattle in 1947 and supplied the first plastic parts to The Boeing Company (www.vaupell.com).

“The company achieved significant revenue and EBITDA growth during our ownership, which yielded an outstanding investment outcome for Vaupell management, H.I.G. and its investors. We have every confidence that the company will continue its pioneering leadership as a member of the Sumitomo Bakelite Aerospace division.”

2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 6-18-14

ACAS Completes Sale of Specialty Brands of America

by

American Capital has completed the sale of its portfolio company Specialty Brands of America to B&G Foods for $155 million in cash.  American Capital first invested in Specialty Brands in January 2004.

Specialty Brands is a packaged foods company with a portfolio of brands.  The company’s largest brand is Bear Creek Country Kitchens, a brand of dry soups, pasta dishes and rice dishes.  Specialty Brands also offers Spring Tree, Cary’s and MacDonald’s pure maple syrups and pancake syrups, New York Flatbreads and Canoleo margarine.  Specialty Brands is based on Long Island in Westbury, NY (www.sbamerica.com).

B&G Foods projects that Specialty Brands will generate on an annualized basis after being fully integrated into B&G Foods net sales of approximately $85 million and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $20 million.  B&G Foods funded the acquisition with cash on hand and borrowings under its existing revolving credit facility.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) and its subsidiaries manufacture, sell and distribute a portfolio of branded shelf-stable foods across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. B&G Foods’ product brands include Ac’cent, B&G,B&M, Baker’s Joy, Brer Rabbit, Cream of Rice, Cream of Wheat, Devonsheer, Don Pepino, Emeril’s, Grandma’s Molasses, JJ Flats, Joan of Arc, Las Palmas, Maple Grove Farms, Molly McButter, Mrs. Dash, New York Style, Old London, Original Tings, Ortega, Pirate’s Booty, Polaner, Red Devil, Regina, Rickland Orchards, Sa-són, Sclafani, Smart Puffs, Sugar Twin, Trappey’s, TrueNorth, Underwood, Vermont Maid and Wright’s. B&G Foods also sells and distributes two branded household products, Static Guard and Kleen Guard. B&G Foods is based in Parsippany, NJ (www.bgfoods.com).

American Capital (NASDAQ: ACAS) is a publicly traded private equity firm and asset manager that originates, underwrites and manages investments of $10 million to $750 million in middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate and structured products. Founded in 1986, American Capital has $93 billion in total assets under management and has eight offices in the US, Europe and Asia.  The firm is headquartered in Bethesda (www.AmericanCapital.com).

American Capital was advised by Evercore Group (www.evercore.com) on this transaction.

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-24-14

One Rock Closes Debut Fund Above Target

by

One Rock Capital Partners, a lower middle-market private equity firm, has held a final closing of One Rock Capital Partners, LP with $431.5 million in total capital commitments, surpassing its fundraising target of $300 million.

This is the first private equity fund raised by One Rock, which acquires lower middle-market companies primarily in situations characterized by complexity.  The new fund’s investor base consists of government and corporate pension plans, insurance companies, health organizations, endowments and foundations, and high net worth families.

“We are extremely grateful for the trust the institutional investor community has placed in One Rock.  We look forward to continuing to build our reputation as a leading sponsor in complex situations in the lower middle-market,” said Managing Partner Scott Spielvogel.

One Rock makes controlling investments of $10 million to $60 million in companies with potential for growth and operational improvement using an approach that utilizes the firm’s Operating Partners to identify, acquire and enhance businesses in select industries.  Sectors of interest include the chemicals and process industries; specialty manufacturing and healthcare products; business and environmental services; and automotive retail.

One Rock also has a strategic relationship with Mitsubishi Corporation – the firm’s largest investor – which can provide strategic resources to One Rock and its portfolio companies, including access to potential new business partners, market intelligence, and low-cost sourcing through increased purchasing power globally. One Rock was formed in 2010 by Tony Lee and R. Scott Spielvogel, both formerly Managing Directors at Ripplewood Holdings.  The firm is based in New York (www.onerockcapital.com).

“We are pleased that our in-house Operating Partners, our relationship with Mitsubishi, and our investment approach have resonated as distinguishing factors for investors.  We believe we have unique resources to help companies achieve long-term value creation,” said Managing Partner Tony Lee.

One Rock has already completed three investments through the new fund –  Petroplex Acidizing, Kova International, and Summit Research Labs.  Petroplex, based in Midland, TX, is a provider of chemical treatment and logistics services to oil companies (www.petroplex.com).  Kova, based in Garden Grove, CA, is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of branded in-vitro diagnostic products for the urinalysis market (www.kovaintl.com).  Summit Research, based in Huguenot, NY, is a producer of active ingredients used in antiperspirants (www.summitreheis.com).  In December, One Rock exited its investment in Dixie Electric, a distributor of electrical supplies and materials based in Odessa, TX (www.dixielectric.com), in a sale to First Reserve.

Greenhill & Co. (www.greenhill.com) served as placement agent, and Debevoise & Plimpton (www.debevoise.com) served as legal counsel in the formation of One Rock Capital Partners, LP.

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-24-14

GE Antares Backs Audax Buy of Luminator

by

GE Antares served as administrative agent on a $166 million multi-currency, cross-border credit facility to support the recent acquisition by Audax Group of Luminator Technology Group, a portfolio company of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners.

“GE has led the financing for many of Audax’ platform investments. Their reliable execution, spirit of partnership and creative financing solutions make them a trusted partner to Audax and our portfolio companies,” said Geoff Rehnert, co-chief executive officer of Audax Group.

Luminator Technology Group is a designer and manufacturer of display, lighting and passenger communication systems used in bus, rail and aerospace applications. Customers include municipal transportation systems, OEMs and their related suppliers.  Luminator is based in Plano, TX and has affiliated operations in Brazil, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and Australia (www.luminatortechnologygroup.com).

“GE Capital was able to provide value to Audax in its ability to deliver commitment certainty, cross-border capabilities, and speed to close on a complex transaction,” said John Goodwin, managing director of GE Antares, “We look forward to supporting Luminator as the company continues to grow, both domestically and abroad.”

GE Antares is a unit of GE Capital with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. Specializing in the middle market, GE Antares is a “one-stop” source for GE’s lending and other services to middle market private equity sponsors (www.geantares.com).

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-24-14