Archives for April 8, 2016

Blue Point Buys Tierra Sol Ceramic Tile

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Shnier-Gesco, a portfolio company of Blue Point Capital since March 2013, has acquired Tierra Sol Ceramic Tile, a distributor of ceramic and porcelain tile.

In addition to distributing ceramic and porcelain tile, Tierra Sol also distributes glass and metal accents and natural stone products that are used on floors and walls in commercial and residential applications. The company was founded in 1979 by Hardy Porter and is headquartered in Calgary with additional offices in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Seattle (www.tierrasol.ca).

Shnier-Gesco (Shnier) is one of the larger distributors of floor coverings in Canada. The company sells both proprietary and branded products through a network of over 3,000 dealers. Shnier was founded in 1938 and operates 5 warehouses across Canada. The company is headquartered in the Toronto suburb of Brampton (www.shnier.ca).

According to Blue Point, Tierra Sol will operate as a division of Shnier and will extend the company’s capabilities in ceramic tile, add to its luxury vinyl tile business, and expand the company’s geographic footprint.

“Shnier excels at marketing, selling and distributing licensed and branded flooring products to multiple customer channels,” said Chip Chaikin, a partner with Blue Point. “Tierra Sol is focused on the fast-growing ceramic category, with particular strength in western Canada and the northwestern United States. The combination of the two companies will allow us to reach a larger customer base with an extended product and service offering. The combination is terrific.”

Blue Point Capital Partners is a lower-middle-market private equity firm that invests in manufacturing, distribution and service businesses generating $20 million to $200 million in revenue. The firm has over $800 million in committed capital and has offices in Charlotte, Cleveland, Seattle, and Shanghai (www.bluepointcapital.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-8-16

ABRY Invests in Edgile

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ABRY Partners has made a minority investment in Edgile, a provider of security and risk consulting services to Fortune 500 companies. The new capital will be used to accelerate the company’s expansion.

Edgile’s services include security strategy, identity and access management, data protection, cloud computing, and governance, risk and compliance. The company was founded in 2001 and is led by its CEO Don Elledge. Edgile is headquartered in Austin with additional offices in San Mateo, CA and Bellevue, WA (www.edgile.com)

The rapidly increasing need for better cyber security has positively affected Edgile as the company has doubled its revenues each year over the last two years.

“Edgile has proven itself to be a high-value, trusted partner to the Fortune 500, having established longstanding relationships with top companies in financial services, healthcare and manufacturing,” said Tyler Wick, Principal at ABRY Partners. “After evaluating dozens of security products and firms, we believe that Edgile is a leader in the identity and access management (IAM), and governance, risk and compliance (GRC) sector. The business is well positioned to capitalize on the strong demand for IAM and GRC services.”

ABRY invests in the media, communications, and business and information sectors. The firm is currently managing $4.3 billion of total capital and investing out of a $1.9 billion private equity fund, a $950 million senior equity fund and a $1.5 billion senior debt fund. ABRY was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Boston (www.abry.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-8-16

Churchill Equity Exits Cal Quality

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Churchill Equity has sold its portfolio company Cal Quality Electronics, a provider of electronic manufacturing services, to publicly traded PARPRO Corporation. Churchill Equity acquired Cal Quality Electronics in 2001 from Unique Partners.

Cal Quality Electronics (CQE) provides electronic manufacturing services (EMS) including custom printed circuit board assembly, surface-mount technology assembly, through-hole assembly, cable and wire harness assembly, electro-mechanical assembly and full system builds. The company serves OEMs in the medical, industrial, communications, and aerospace and defense markets. CQE is led by CEO Sunil Kumar. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, CA (www.calquality.com).

Founded in 2001, PARPRO (TW:4916), formerly known as Pilot Electronics Corporation, specializes in turnkey design and manufacture of high-volume printed circuit boards and electronic management services for original equipment manufacturers. The company is headquartered in Taiwan (www.parpro.com).

The purchase of CQE is the third acquisition for PARPRO in a similar market sector within the past three years. “The CQE business is an excellent strategic fit,” said Thomas Sparrvik, PARPRO CEO. “CQE is a solid business with a history of good performance and strong client relationships, and this acquisition provides PARPRO’s entrance into new vertical markets as well as further enhancing our depth and breadth of capabilities within the electronic and electromechanical value chain.”

Investment bank Lincoln International (www.lincolninternational.com) acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Churchill and CQE. “Lincoln’s expertise in the EMS industry coupled with global transaction experience and sound advice yielded a great outcome for all,” said Gary Gottschalk, a Partner at Churchill Equity.  “Churchill and the stakeholders of Cal Quality benefitted greatly from their experience, efforts and knowledge.”

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-8-16

 

 

GTCR Acquires Vector Laboratories

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Maravai Life Sciences, a platform company of GTCR, has acquired Vector Laboratories, a provider of life sciences products. Maravai was formed in March 2014 by GTCR in partnership with Carl Hull and Eric Tardiff to acquire companies in the in-vitro diagnostics and life sciences industry.

“The investment in Vector is a great first step and provides us with an excellent platform to build upon,” said Carl Hull. “Vector is an excellent organization with a talented and dedicated team and we look forward to working with and investing in the organization and its employees.”

Vector’s products include labeling and detection reagents that help medical and scientific researchers visualize cells in experiments which are central to the understanding of cancer and other diseases. The company’s products are sold both directly and through a network of independent distributors. Vector was founded in 1976 and operates a 65,000 sq. ft. research and development facility south of San Francisco in Burlingame, CA (headquarters) and has additional facilities in the UK and Canada (www.vectorlabs.com).

“In addition to growth initiatives within the company, we believe there will be a number of compelling investment opportunities to acquire other complementary companies and products that serve a similar customer base,” said Ben Daverman, Principal at GTCR. “This multi-billion dollar addressable market opportunity includes products that enable adjacent scientific research workflows and diagnostic applications, which Maravai will look to serve through future acquisitions.”

Mr. Hull is a thirty-year veteran of the diagnostic and life sciences industry. Prior to partnering with GTCR, Mr. Hull was Chief Executive Officer of Gen-Probe, a molecular diagnostic company which was sold in 2012 to Hologic for $3.7 billion. Prior to his time at Gen-Probe, he held a number of executive roles at various diagnostics and life sciences companies, including Applied Biosystems, Ventana Medical Systems and Abbott Laboratories.

Eric Tardif joined Mr. Hull at Gen-Probe as Senior Vice President after spending over a decade covering life sciences clients at Morgan Stanley and other firms. At Gen-Probe, Mr. Tardif was responsible for establishing corporate strategy, evaluating and executing all mergers and acquisitions, including Gen-Probe’s sale to Hologic.

GTCR pioneered the investment strategy of identifying and partnering with executives to acquire and build companies through a combination of acquisitions and internal growth. The firm currently has nearly $11 billion in assets under management. Since its inception in 1980, GTCR has invested more than $12 billion in over 200 companies. The firm is based in Chicago (www.gtcr.com).

The acquisition of Vector was funded from GTCR Fund XI, a private equity fund raised in 2014 with $3.8 billion of capital commitments. “Vector is an exciting starting point from which Maravai intends to build a market leading business in the diagnostics and life sciences industry,” said GTCR Managing Director Dean Mihas. “Carl and Eric’s expertise, strategic vision and operational abilities make them ideal partners as GTCR invests in this dynamic and growing segment of healthcare.”

BroadOak Partners, an investment bank which specializes in the life sciences industry, served as financial advisor to GTCR. BroadOak has offices in Bethesda and San Francisco (www.broadoak.com).

Kirkland & Ellis (www.kirkland.com) provided legal counsel and PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwc.com) served as accounting advisor to GTCR.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-8-16

Dubin Clark Acquires Rentals Unlimited

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PPC Event Services, a portfolio company of Dubin Clark, has acquired Rentals Unlimited, a provider of special event rental equipment.  This is the third add-on acquisition completed by PPC since being acquired by Dubin Clark in December 2014.

Rentals Unlimited rents linens, tables, chairs, fine china, crystal and flatware, décor, and a variety of other specialty items. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered 30 miles south of Boston in Stoughton, MA (www.rentals-unlimited.net).

PPC Event Services also rents party and event equipment including table linens, tents, chairs, beverage-bar products, flatware, flooring and staging, glassware, trays, platters, and stands. Customers include caterers and event planners, corporations, production companies, and charities and operating venues. The company was founded in 1877 as a renter of chairs to funeral homes. PPC is led by Bob Traina, President and CEO and is based near Boston in Woburn, MA (www.petersonpartycenter.com).

“As leaders in the special events industry, Rentals Unlimited and PPC have always had great mutual respect for one another,” said Larry Green, owner of Rentals Unlimited. “Bringing Rentals Unlimited under the PPC family of brands creates a unique team that enables our organization to continue to deliver exceptional innovative service to our customers and make it happen.”

Dubin Clark is actively seeking add‐on investments for PPC. “Larry Green and his team at Rentals Unlimited built a great company,” said Brent Paris, Partner of Dubin Clark. “We look forward to heavily investing in the combined business to fuel future growth.”

Rentals Unlimited is the latest acquisition for PPC. The company also purchased boutique linen company Table Toppers (www.ttnewton.com) in 2013 and table and chair company Reserve Modern (www.reservemoderneventrental.com) in 2015.

Last month, Dubin Clark acquired M&M Event Rentals, an event service company that provides tables, chairs, linens, tents, lighting, and other equipment for weddings, social parties, and corporate events in the Chicago metropolitan and Dallas Ft. Worth metro areas. M&M has not been consolidated with PPC and stands as a separate investment in Dubin Clark’s portfolio. M&M is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Carol Stream (www.mmspecialevents.com).

Dubin Clark invests in companies that have from $10 million to $100 million in sales and at least $2 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, value-added distribution, and services. The firm was founded in 1984 and has offices in Boston, MA; Ponte Vedra Beach, FL; and Greenwich, CT (www.dubinclark.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-8-16