Babson Capital Management has provided subordinated debt and made an equity co-investment to support Dunn Paper’s acquisition of the Specialty Mills business of Clearwater Paper Corporation (NYSE: CLW). Dunn Paper is a portfolio company of Wingate Partners and was acquired in July 2010 from Meriturn Partners.
The add-on acquisition of the Specialty Mills business – which produces specialty napkins, tissues and food packaging paper from five paper mills – aligns with Dunn’s strategy of providing high value specialty paper for niche product applications.
Dunn Paper is a specialty paper manufacturer that produces an array of specialty waxed, coated, and uncoated machine glazed (MG) papers used in various food packaging and specialty label applications. The company is headquartered north of Detroit in Port Huron, MI (www.dunnpaper.com).
“Wingate Partners is delighted to collaborate with Babson on this significant add-on investment by Dunn Paper,” said Bud Applebaum, partner at Wingate Partners. “Wingate views Babson’s deep expertise in the middle market and its partnership-oriented approach to investing as true differentiators, and we look forward to working with the Babson team on this investment as well as future opportunities.”
Babson Capital has $217 billion in assets under management and is a member of the MassMutual Financial Group. The firm has offices in Boston and Springfield, MA; New York, Chicago, Charlotte and Los Angeles, and nine other offices in Europe, Asia and Australia (www.BabsonCapital.com).
“Babson is excited to work with Wingate Partners on the acquisition of the Specialty Mills, which, when combined with Dunn Paper, creates a specialty paper business with unmatched products and capabilities,” said Mike Klofas, Managing Director and co-head of Babson’s US Private Finance Group. “We have a high degree of confidence in supporting the Dunn Paper management team, and we see tremendous upside in the growth opportunities with Dunn Paper’s existing customers as a result of their broader product offering.”
Wingate Partners makes control equity investments in manufacturing, distribution and service businesses, typically with revenues between $50 million and $250 million. The firm was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Dallas (www.wingatepartners.com).
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-21-15
