Niagara Fiber, a portfolio company of Arsenal Capital Partners, has acquired Allied Blending and Ingredients, a provider of fiber and starch based products and mixes.
Allied Blending formulates, manufactures and blends various fiber and starch based products and mixes used in the dairy and tortilla end-markets. Allied has manufacturing facilities and R&D labs in Bell, CA and Keokuk, IA as well as a Research Center in St. Louis, MO. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Keokuk (www.alliedblending.com).
This is the third add-acquisition Arsenal has completed for Niagara. In August 2013, Niagara acquired International Fiber Corporation, a supplier of cellulose-based insoluble fiber products for food, pharmaceutical and industrial applications and in October 2013 Niagara acquired Fibred, a provider of soy fiber products for numerous food end-markets.
“The acquisition of Allied Blending is an integral part of our investment plan to significantly expand Niagara’s presence both in North America and internationally and to expand and diversify our product portfolio. We plan to continue to support the growth of Niagara through acquisitions as well as the development of new product offerings to make Allied, IFC and Fibred together more valuable partners and suppliers to the industries that they serve,” said Sal Gagliardo, an Operating Partner at Arsenal.
Arsenal Capital Partners invests in middle-market specialty industrial and healthcare companies that have $50 million to $250 million in enterprise value. Industries of specific interest include specialty & fine chemicals; segments of healthcare; transportation and logistics; power generation; aerospace & defense; and process industry components and services. Arsenal has $1.7 billion of committed capital under management. The firm was founded in 2000 and has offices in New York and Shanghai (www.arsenalcapital.com).
“We’re excited to add Allied’s unique products, multi-plant locations and technical capabilities to our customer offering, and know our customers will benefit from our ability to serve a larger variety of needs. Allied’s innovative product technology and processes enhance specific performance characteristics of dairy products, flatbreads, and tortillas. We are looking forward to combining and expanding Allied’s R&D, formulation and blending capabilities to better serve our customers,” said Ken Blackburn, Niagara’s CEO.
Houlihan Lokey (www.hl.com) served as exclusive financial advisor to Allied Blending.
© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 5-5-14
