Olympus Partners has completed its previously announced acquisition of Pregis Corporation, a provider of protective packaging materials and systems, from AEA Investors. The Pregis acquisition is Olympus’ eleventh investment out of its $1.5 billion fifth fund.
Pregis, acquired by AEA in 2005, is a provider of protective packaging materials and systems. The company’s products are used in a variety of consumer and industrial market segments including food, beverage, healthcare, medical devices, agricultural, e-commerce, retail, automotive, furniture, electronics, construction and military & aerospace. Pregis’ products are sold through industrial and packaging distributors, fabricators and specialty suppliers. In North America, Pregis operates 14 facilities and is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield (www.pregis.com).
“Olympus Partners looks for enterprises that have established a leading market position and have a strong management team. We believe that such companies will enjoy greater long term value creation and generate superior investment returns. Pregis meets those criteria and we are pleased to add the company to our diverse investment portfolio,” said Manu Bettegowda, partner. “We look forward to working with Kevin Baudhuin, president and chief executive officer, Keith LaVanway, chief financial officer, and the rest of the management team driving success at Pregis. The company is well positioned for growth with innovative solutions, expanding markets and solid channel partnerships.”
“On behalf of the Pregis team, we are looking forward to this next chapter with Olympus Partners. We are confident that our strategic vision will be accelerated by investment of significant capital in our business which will help us continue on our growth path and create value for our customers,” said Mr. Baudhuin.
Olympus Partners, with $5 billion of capital under management, provides equity capital for middle market management buyouts and for companies needing capital for expansion. Sectors of interest include consumer products, healthcare, financial services and business services. The firm was founded in 1988 and is based in Stamford, CT (www.olympuspartners.com). The Olympus team that worked on the Pregis transaction included Manu Bettegowda, David Haddad, Chase Ormond and Mike Boccia.
AEA manages approximately $6 billion of invested and committed capital in funds dedicated to three purposes: buyouts of middle market companies operating in the industrial, specialty chemical, consumer products and consumer services sectors; buyouts of smaller middle market companies in these same sectors; and mezzanine and senior debt investments. AEA was founded in 1968 and is based in New York with offices in London, Munich, Hong Kong, and Shanghai (www.aeainvestors.com).
Olympus was represented by Jim Faley from Winston & Strawn and advised by Deutsche Bank Securities and Goldman Sachs & Co. Debt financing was led by Goldman Sachs and Co. and Barclays.
© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 5-22-14
