Arsenal Capital Partners has acquired Elite Foam and signed an agreement to acquire the foam production assets of Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company (HSM Foam). These transactions follow the firm’s March 2016 acquisition of Pacific Urethanes, a developer and seller of polyurethane foam products. The three companies will operate under the ELITE Comfort Solutions name.
Through the combination of Pacific Urethanes, Elite Foam, and HSM Foam, Arsenal is building Elite Comfort Solutions into a large specialty foam platform. “Recognizing the importance of regional presence, yet conformity of quality and real-time service, the combination of these businesses has immediately created a leading foam company with the scale and range of product technologies desired to support our growing customer needs anywhere in North America,” said Timothy Zappala, a partner at Arsenal and co-head of the firm’s specialty industrials group.
Elite Foam is a developer and manufacturer of specialty foam for the bedding and home furnishings industry. Brand names include CoolFlow and ThermaGel. The company is led by its president Pete Wallace who will remain with the company post closing. Elite Foam is headquartered 40 miles southwest of Atlanta in Newnan, GA (www.elitefoam.com).
HSM Foam is one of the largest producers of flexible polyurethane foam in North America. The company’s products are used in furniture, bedding, medical and packaging applications. Company brand names include Code*RedII – a combustion inhibitive foam; EnduroFoam – a premium performance foam; and Preserve – a bio-based polyurethane foam. HSM Foam’s operations are located in North Carolina (Conover), Arkansas (Fort Smith), Mississippi (Verona), California (Commerce) and Georgia (Americus). The company is headquartered north of Charlotte in Conover, NC (www.hsmsolutions.com).
Pacific Urethanes, acquired just last month by Arsenal, develops and commercializes polyurethane foam products that are used in the specialty bedding, furniture, packaging and recreational markets. The company is headquartered east of Los Angeles in Ontario, CA (www.pacurethanes.com).
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 and fine chemicals; segments of healthcare; transportation and logistics; power generation; aerospace and 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).
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 3-30-16
