Archives for November 6, 2015

Charlesbank Invests in Plaskolite

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Charlesbank Capital Partners has acquired Plaskolite, one of the largest manufacturers of acrylic and plastic sheets in the United States.

As part of the transaction, the Dunn family (which has controlled the company since founding in 1950) and the management team will own a minority equity position in Plaskolite. The company will continue to be led by President & CEO Mitch Grindley, COO Mark Grindley, CFO Rick Larkin and CTO David Chan, with former President Jim Dunn becoming Chairman Emeritus.

In addition to its core specialty of making extruded acrylic sheet, Plaskolite also uses other plastic materials such as ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), PETG (polyethylene terephthalate glycol-modified), and polycarbonate. According to Charlesbank, Plaskolite has a strong market share in the acrylic sheet market with its products used in such applications as storm windows and indoor and outdoor signage. The company, with about 635 employees, is headquartered in Columbus, OH and has additional facilities in Zanesville, OH; Grand Saline, TX; Compton, CA.; Olive Branch, MS; and Monterrey, Mexico (www.plaskolite.com).

“Charlesbank has significant experience investing in industrial manufacturing companies and a record of successfully partnering with family-owned businesses,” said Mitch Grindley, President & CEO. “We see opportunity to continue to grow our business and increase market share with Charlesbank as our new partner and are pleased to have raised the capital to help Plaskolite execute its ambitious growth strategy.”

Charlesbank Capital Partners invests in management-led buyouts and growth capital financings, typically investing from $50 million to $150 million per transaction in companies with enterprise values of $100 million to $1.5 billion. The firm has offices in Boston and New York (www.charlesbank.com).

William Blair (www.williamblair.com) was the financial advisor to Plaskolite. KeyBank (www.key.com) was the financial advisor to Charlesbank and Goodwin Procter (www.goodwinprocter.com) provided legal services.

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-6-15

Boathouse Exits AvidXchange

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Boathouse Capital has sold its portfolio company AvidXchange, a provider of accounts payable management software and automated payments services to mid-sized companies. Boathouse has made three subordinated debt investments in the company since 2010. This exit was the result of a debt and equity financing led by Bain Capital Ventures with the participation of Foundry Group, NYCA Partners, KeyBank, Square 1 Bank, and TPG Special Situations Partners.

AvidXchange’s products and services  are used to streamline a company’s accounts payable process – from invoice receipt through vendor payment. The company has approximately 5,200 North American customers in multiple industries with some concentrations in real estate, financial services, energy, and construction. AvidXchange was founded in 2000 by Michael Praeger and David Miller and is headquartered in Charlotte (www.avidxchange.com).

During Boathouse’s five year investment AvidXchange completed three add-on acquisitions (including the June 2015 buy of Strongroom Solutions and the November 2014 buy of Piracle Payment Management), entered the payments automation sector, added 350 employees and achieved 500% revenue growth. Avid has been named to Inc.’s list of fastest growing private companies three years in a row and was included in Deloitte’s Fast 500 this past year.

“Avid has performed at an amazing level throughout our partnership and has accomplished an eye-popping transition from a small point solution to a comprehensive financial technology provider. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to invest in Michael Praeger and his team and are extremely proud of the 6x return yielded to our investors,”  said Steve Gord, General Partner at Boathouse.

Boathouse invests mezzanine debt and equity in lower middle market companies in partnership with management teams and private equity funds. Boathouse will consider investments from $5 million to $25 million in either mezzanine debt or equity capital in companies with EBITDAs of $1.5 million or greater.  The firm manages over $350 million in two separate funds and is based near Philadelphia in Wayne, PA (www.boathousecapital.com).

“I thoroughly enjoyed partnering with the Boathouse team over the past five years. My team and I valued the continued support that Boathouse provided throughout our partnership as we worked to achieve our goals. We are excited about the future of our business and are committed to continuing to achieve excellent outcomes,” said Michael Praeger, CEO and Co-Founder of AvidXchange.

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-6-15

Hastings Adds on with Buy of Caprock Labs

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Southern Petroleum Laboratories (SPL), a provider of laboratory services to companies in the oil and gas industry and a portfolio company of Hastings Equity Partners, has acquired Caprock Laboratories.

Caprock provides hydrocarbon laboratory analysis and measurement services to oil and gas companies active in the Permian Basin (located in west Texas and eastern New Mexico). Services include water & waste water analysis; soil chemical analysis; corrosion analysis; gas chromatography; plant and field testing;  antifreeze analysis; and environmental analysis. The company is led by President Jim Pritchard. Caprock was founded in 1992 and is based in Midland, TX (www.caprocklab.com).

“We are very excited about being a part of SPL and look forward to being able to offer more services to our customers through their capabilities,” said Mr. Pritchard. “Being part of SPL – the industry’s leading independent measurement, analysis, allocations and reporting organization – will help us grow.”

SPL is a provider of laboratory analysis, measurement, and allocation services of hydrocarbon products for the oil and gas industry. The company was founded in  1945 by W.A. “Dubb” Frier and Edward Patterson. Today, SPL has 14 locations in Texas, Louisiana, Michigan, Colorado and Oklahoma and is headquartered in Houston (www.spl-inc.com).

“The acquisition of Caprock is a major milestone for SPL as we continue the growth of our business,” said Ian Milne, CEO of SPL. “Jim and Carol Pritchard and their team are an excellent fit with our organization. It’s an exciting time at SPL as we expand into a new geography by serving the Permian Basin.”

Hastings Equity Partners invests from $5 million to $15 million in niche manufacturing, distribution, and business services companies with EBITDAs from $2 million to $10 million. The firm is based in Waltham, MA (www.hastingsequity.com).

Co-investing in the transaction with Hastings were The Edgewater Funds (www.edgewaterfunds.com) and certain fund clients of Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers (www.jzpartners.com).

Locke Lord (www.lockelord.com) was the legal advisor to the shareholders of SPL.

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-6-15

BPOC Acquires Examination Management Services

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Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company has acquired a majority equity interest in Examination Management Services (EMSI).

EMSI is an outsourced service provider of medical information, risk adjustment and investigative services to insurance companies, health insurers, and employers. The company’s main services are in the areas of surveillance, claims investigations, fraud abatement, and pre-employment screening. EMSI’s customers include Medicare Advantage and commercial health plans, life insurance and property and casualty insurance companies, academic research institutions, and major public and private corporations. The company is headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ (www.emsinet.com).

As part of this transaction, President and CEO Mark Davis and EVP Rob Brook will retire from their positions with EMSI following a transition period.  James Calver will become the new CEO of the company. Mr. Calver has more than 25 years of experience in health care strategy, executive management and operations. Mr. Calver is the former CEO of Hooper Holmes, a healthcare and insurance services company (www.hooperholmes.com).  He also founded and was the Managing Partner of Allexian, a healthcare advisory company (www.allexian.com).

Monroe Capital – an active lender to private equity sponsors – provided a $22.5 million senior credit facility to support the acquisition of EMSI. Monroe provides senior and junior debt and will also make equity co-investments in select situations. The firm was founded in 2004 and maintains offices in Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco (www.monroecap.com).

Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company (BPOC) invests in middle-market buy-out transactions, recapitalizations, and growth platforms in the health care industry. The firm is currently investing out of its fourth investment fund, Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company Fund IV, LP, a $500 million investment fund raised in 2013. BPOC was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Chicago (www.bpoc.com).

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-6-15

Maranon Capital Backs Audax Buy

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Maranon Capital was the lead arranger and administrative agent for a group of lenders that provided second lien debt, mezzanine debt, and an equity co-investment to back the recent buy of California Products Corporation by Audax. Demian Kircher, Managing Director, led the transaction for Maranon.

California Products is a provider of branded architectural interior and exterior paints and stains, tennis court and other sports surfaces coatings systems, and mold and abatement remediation coatings. The company is led by Steven McMenamin, President.  California Products was founded in 1926 and is based north of Boston in Andover, MA (www.calprocorp.com).

Audax acquired California Products from Delos Capital which had acquired the company in December 2013. Delos remains a minority investor in California Products.

The buy of California Products gives Audax a second company to add to its specialty products platform which currently includes in Nicoat, a manufacturer of water-based and UV-curable coatings used in graphic art, packaging, and specialty coating applications. Audax acquired Nicoat in March 2015 from Caltius Equity Partners. Nicoat is based just outside Chicago in Itasca, IL (www.nicoat.com).

Maranon provides senior financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments for private equity-backed and non-sponsored middle market transactions. The firm is currently managing over $1 billion of committed capital and has offices in Chicago; Birmingham, MI (near Detroit) and South Bend, IN (www.maranoncapital.com).

The other lenders participating with Maranon on the transaction were Intermediate Capital Group (www.icgplc.com) and Triangle Capital (www.tcap.com).

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-6-15