Archives for January 22, 2016

New Private Equity Leader at Partners Capital

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Partners Capital, an outsourced investment office, has hired Suzanne Streeter as a Senior Investment Principal. She will lead the firm’s private equity investment asset class in North America.

Before joining Partners Capital, Ms. Streeter was a Managing Director at Babson Capital Management from May 2013 to October 2015, where she led private equity fund and equity co-investments on behalf of MassMutual (Babson’s owner). Beginning in March 2007, Ms. Streeter was in the Yale University investments office where she was Associate Director for its private equity program. She received her MBA from the Yale School of Management and a Bachelors degree in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross.

“Private equity is a core allocation for Partners Capital’s client portfolios and we therefore are pleased that Suzanne has joined our team to lead our activities in this area in North America,” said Stan Miranda, Founder, CEO and CIO of Partners Capital. “Her experience at the Yale investment office, which was a pioneer among endowments in allocating significantly to private equity, make her an especially good fit for Partners Capital.”

Partners Capital is an outsourced investment office serving endowments and foundations and ultra-high-net-worth families in Europe, North America and Asia. Its institutional clients include eleven Oxford and Cambridge Colleges, Eton College, the Research Foundation for the State of New York’s University System, the Royal Academy of Arts, Milton Academy and the Cancer Research Institute. The firm has approximately 115 employees and manages assets of more than $17 billion. Partners Capital has offices in London, Boston, New York and Hong Kong (www.partners-cap.com).

© 2016 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-22-16

Deloitte Was Advisor on Marena Sale

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Deloitte Corporate Finance (DCF) was the financial advisor to The Marena Group, a manufacturer of compression garments for medical and consumer applications, on its October 2015 equity recapitalization with The Riverside Company.

Marena’s products include medical-grade compression garments, shapewear, and activewear sold to plastic surgery centers, hospitals, medical providers, patients, and consumers. Marena’s compression garments are used by plastic surgery patients for post-surgical applications and by consumers for shapewear to increase support and appearance. Customers include medical providers and individual consumers in the US as well as more than 50 international distributors selling into nearly 80 countries. Marena was founded in 1994 by Vera and Bill Watkins – the company was named after their children Mark and Lena – and its first products were made in the couple’s home garage in July 1995. Today, the company is headquartered northeast of Atlanta in Lawrenceville, GA (www.marenagroup.com).

“In today’s market, private companies like Marena are using equity recapitalizations to drive their next phase of growth. Marena is working to continue its expansion to help patients and consumers benefit from medical grade compression products. Assisting Marena in its partnership with the experienced team at Riverside Company was immensely gratifying,” said Doug Bolt, a managing director at DCF.

This is the second transaction that DCF has worked on with Marena. Back in 2012, the firm advised Marena on a mezzanine financing. “Deloitte Corporate Finance has been a critical strategic advisor to Marena twice now. We are thrilled with the results of our recent equity recapitalization process and the valuable, high-touch advice from DCF’s transaction team at every stage of the process. Partnering with The Riverside Company is an exciting new step as we continue pursuing our growth initiatives,” said Vera Watkins, chief executive officer of Marena.

Deloitte Corporate Finance provides deal execution and financial advisory services to large corporate, middle market, and private equity firms.   Together with the corporate finance advisory practices within the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu network of member firms, the practices include in excess of 1,900 professionals and 150 international locations (www.investmentbanking.deloitte.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private equity’s news leader • 1-22-16

Guardian Acquires Hyper Pet

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Guardian Capital Partners has acquired the assets of Rose America Corp (DBA Hyper Pet). Hyper Pet is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of dog toys, pet collars and leashes, and other pet products.

Hyper Pet’s products include toys, training aides, ball launchers, sports balls, retractable leashes, doggie bags, tweeter balls, tire tossers, throwers, ropes, and tire treads.  Customers include, among others, PetSmart, Petco, Bass Pro Shop, Cabelas, Menards, and Wal-Mart. Company owned brand names include Hyper Pet and PetWear. The company also produces products under licensed and private label brands. Hyper Pet is led by its CEO Randy Woods and operates a 100,000 sq. ft. warehouse and distribution facility at its headquarters in Wichita. Hyper Pet was founded by the Hanna family in 1983 and has about 40 employees (www.hyper-pet.com).

“Hyper Pet is a category leading innovator in the pet products space. We look forward to partnering with the entire Hyper Pet executive management team and bringing the necessary resources, guidance and governance to further develop and accelerate the company’s growth strategy,” said Peter Haabestad, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Guardian Capital Partners, who led the transaction for Guardian.

“We have had a successful 33 year run under the prior family-owned structure of the company,” said Mr. Woods. “We are thrilled to partner with Guardian Capital Partners and to embark on the next chapter of growth for the benefit of the company and our valued consumers.”

Guardian Capital Partners makes control investments in lower middle market private companies located primarily in the United States that have annual revenues between $20 million and $100 million.  Sectors of interest include consumer products, niche manufacturing and specialty business services. The firm is based in Wayne, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia (www.Guardiancp.com).

According to Guardian, the pet products sector has grown to $61 billion in sales 2015 with a 4.5% CAGR over the last five years and is comprised of approximately 85 million pet owners in the US alone.

“The ever-growing pet industry is in need of novel, innovative products that allow pet owners to interact in a meaningful way with their pets and Hyper Pet is well positioned to capitalize on this opportunity by expanding its product development pipeline, product breadth and channel partners,” said Chad Clark, a Vice President at Guardian.

DLA Piper (www.dlapiper.com) provided legal services and Marcum (www.marcumllp.com) provided accounting and tax diligence services to Guardian. PNC Bank (www.pnc.com) provided a senior loan facility and Centerfield Capital Partners (www.centerfieldcapital.com) provided subordinated debt and equity for the transaction.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private equity’s news leader • 1-22-16

Encore Closes Investment in LORAC

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Encore Consumer Capital has completed its investment in LORAC Cosmetics, a cosmetics brand founded by celebrity makeup artist Carol Shaw.

LORAC is a Hollywood-inspired brand that uses high-quality, gentle formulations across all color cosmetic categories. The name of the company is a backwards spelling of the founder’s first name. LORAC is headquartered near Los Angeles in Valencia, CA (www.loraccosmetics.com). Under Encore’s ownership, LORAC’s operations will remain in California and Ms. Shaw will still be active in the business maintaining roles in product development and public relations.

“My colleagues and I at LORAC are excited to be partnering with Encore. I am very proud of LORAC’s success, and look forward to working with the company’s new CEO, Tim McMeekan, to bring the brand to even greater heights. The best of LORAC is yet to come,” said Ms. Shaw.

“Carol Shaw is an authentic icon in the industry and a first-mover in prestige cosmetics who has built an outstanding brand. Our team looks forward to continued growth and success,” said Mr. McMeekan.

Encore Consumer Capital invests exclusively in consumer products companies that have revenues between $10 million and $100 million and where it can utilize its own consumer experience and the expertise of its operating partners at Encore Associates, a strategic advisory firm to the consumer products industry. The firm has raised nearly $600 million in equity capital and invested in 24 platform companies.  Encore was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in San Francisco (www.encoreconsumercapital.com).

Intrepid Investment Bankers advised LORAC. Intrepid is a specialty investment bank that provides M&A, capital raising and strategic advisory services to middle-market companies across various industry sectors. Intrepid was formed in 2010 by a group of senior professionals from Barrington Associates, a middle-market mergers and acquisitions advisory firm that was acquired by Wells Fargo in 2006. Intrepid is headquartered in Los Angeles (www.intrepidib.com).

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (www.bhfs.com) acted as legal counsel to Encore and Irell & Manella (www.irell.com) acted as legal counsel to LORAC.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private equity’s news leader • 1-22-16

Riverside Adds-On with TMS Audio Buy

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Spectrio, a portfolio company of The Riverside Company, has acquired TMS Audio Productions (TMS). This is the fourth add-on completed by Riverside since acquiring Spectrio in October 2014 from SJ Partners.

Like the prior three add-ons Spectrio has completed, TMS provides telephone-based on-hold marketing services and other services such as digital signage and web related development to approximately 400 customers, primarily in the healthcare and financial industries. The company was founded in 1992 by Ron Brown and is based in Jefferson City, MO (www.tmsaudio.com).

Spectrio completed its first add-on acquisition with the buy of Rowley, MA-based Sound Marketing Concepts in March 2015 and acquired Greensboro, NC-based Message On Hold Plus in April 2015. The last add-on was the buy of Charlotte-based Vital Media earlier this month. Riverside continues to seek add-ons for Spectrio.

Spectrio is a national provider of on-hold messaging and digital signage managed services.  Services include content creation, professional production of audio or visual content, installation, and network management. The company is based near Tampa in Oldsmar, FL (www.spectrio.com).

“We’re excited about adding TMS to Spectrio’s growing customer base, and this transaction provides access to Spectrio’s broader product and service line for existing TMS customers,” said Riverside Partner Peter Tsang.

Working with Mr. Tsang on the transaction for Riverside were Partner Chris Jones, Senior Associate Max Moehlmann, Associate Linda Xu and Operating Partner George Benson. Scott Gilbertson sourced the acquisition for Riverside.

The Riverside Company invests in businesses valued at up to $300 million. Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 410 transactions. The firm’s international portfolio includes more than 80 companies. Riverside is headquartered in New York with additional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London (www.riversidecompany.com).

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© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private equity’s news leader • 1-22-16