Archives for August 2, 2016

Highlander Acquires Dr. Smoothie Brands

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Bevolution Group, a portfolio company of Highlander Partners, has acquired Dr. Smoothie Brands.

Dr. Smoothie sells crushed whole fruit smoothie purees, coffee house style specialty beverages, organic smoothie and frappe concentrates, and nutritional supplements to customers active in the foodservice industry. The company was founded in 1997 by Bill Haugh and is headquartered near Anaheim in Fullerton, CA (www.drsmoothiebrands.com).

Bevolution Group is a manufacturer of shelf stable and frozen foodservice beverage products and cocktail mixes. Specific products include juices, juice drinks, sugar-free beverages, thickened and enhanced waters, sports and energy drinks, iced teas, powder beverages, margaritas and cocktail mixers, frozen drinks and smoothie mixes. Bevolution’s products are sold through foodservice distributors to restaurants and bars, colleges and universities, K-12 schools, healthcare providers, the military, recreation and lodging providers, and convenience stores across the US, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The company was established by Highlander through the merger of Juice Tyme and Lemon-X in March 2015. Bevolution Group is led by CEO Sam Lteif and is headquartered in Chicago with production facilities in Chicago; Frostproof, FL (south of Orlando); Huntington Station, NY (Long Island) (www.bevolutiongroup.com).

“We have created a unique beverage platform that is recognized as a leader in the foodservice industry. Dr. Smoothie complements our product portfolio exceptionally well, and this transaction will provide significant benefits to both organizations,” said Alex Guiva, Chairman of Bevolution Group and a Partner of Highlander. “This is our third acquisition in the last 16 months, and we are excited to support the growth of Bevolution as it continues our model of supplementing organic growth with strategic acquisitions. We will search for additional add-on opportunities to enhance our market position, expand product offerings and grow our geographic presence.”

Highlander Partners makes investments in middle market businesses in targeted industries in which the principals of the firm have significant operating and investing experience. Sectors of interest include healthcare, basic manufacturing, food, and building materials. The firm has over $1.2 billion in capital under management and is based in Dallas (www.highlander-partners.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 8-2-16

Carlyle Acquires WellDyneRx

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The Carlyle Group has entered into an agreement to acquire WellDyneRx, a pharmacy benefit manager. WellDyneRx has annual EBITDA of approximately $75 million. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2016.

WellDyneRx provides prescription drug management services to patients and drug plans through a network of retail providers, prescription drug mail order programs, and specialty drug pharmacies. Customers include small and mid-sized self-insured employers, unions, and municipalities. The company is led by its president Zachary Johnson and has offices in Lakeland, FL and Englewood, CO (www.welldynerx.com).

“We strive as a firm to invest in companies that improve accessibility and affordability of healthcare,” said Stephen Wise, Managing Director and Head of Global Healthcare for The Carlyle Group. “We are pleased to partner with WellDyneRx and look forward to working closely with its management team.”

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) invests in buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation.  The firm employs approximately 1,650 people in 35 offices across six continents and is based in Washington, DC (www.carlyle.com).

“WellDyneRx has enjoyed remarkable growth over the past few years as the company has transitioned from a niche player to a full-service pharmacy benefits manager. Carlyle provides the perfect combination of strategic and financial support to enable us to strengthen our commitment to our existing customers while pursuing greater scale in our operations,” said Mr. Johnson.

Equity for the transaction will come from Carlyle Partners VI, a $13 billion fund that closed in November 2013.

J.P. Morgan Securities (www.jpmorgansecurities.com) served as financial advisor to WellDyneRx.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 8-2-16

H.I.G. Sells Amerijet to ZS Fund

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H.I.G. Capital has sold Amerijet Holdings to middle market private equity investor ZS Fund. H.I.G. Capital first invested in Amerijet in 2001.

Amerijet is an all-cargo transportation and logistics provider offering scheduled transport via land, sea and air. The company operates its own all-jet cargo airline with a fleet of 10 Boeing 727-200 and Boeing 767-200/300 aircraft, a licensed NVOCC (a non-vessel operating common carrier) and a ground transportation network. Amerijet transports over 200 million pounds of freight annually. The company was founded in 1974 by David Bassett and is headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale with additional offices and agents throughout North, South and Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, Asia and the Middle East (www.amerijet.com).

“H.I.G. has been an ideal and patient partner over the past fifteen years,” said Mr. Bassett. “H.I.G. supported Amerijet through numerous strategic initiatives since investing in the company in 2001, enabling Amerijet to access new markets, expand capacity and continue to offer our customers an unparalleled level of service. Amerijet is well positioned for its next phase of growth with ZS Fund and Vic Karjian, the incoming CEO.”

“It has been personally and professionally rewarding to work with David Bassett and the management team at Amerijet,” said Jeff Zanarini, Managing Director at H.I.G. “The company has outperformed our expectations due to management’s excellent execution of a strong strategic vision. As a result, Amerijet generated strong revenue and EBITDA growth, which resulted in an outstanding investment outcome for management, H.I.G. and its investors.”

H.I.G. specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies and invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of manufacturing or service businesses. H.I.G. has more than $20 billion of capital under management. The firm was founded in 1993 and is based in Miami with additional offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Francisco, London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro (www.higcapital.com).

ZS Fund, the buyer of Amerijet, invests in public and private companies that have annual operating profits from $4 million to $30 million. Through its current and prior private equity funds, ZS has invested in more than forty companies with an aggregate value of approximately $2 billion. The firm was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in New York (www.zsfundlp.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 8-2-16

Pamlico Acquires Veterinary Practice Partners

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Pamlico Capital has acquired Veterinary Practice Partners from Deerfield Management Company which founded the company in 2011. CEO and co-founder Rich Lester, along with the rest of the management team, will continue as significant investors in the company.

Veterinary Practice Partners (VPP) provides its partner clinics – the company offers a co‐ownership model – with marketing, financial reporting and HR management services. Since founding in 2011, VPP has grown through acquisitions and de novo development to a portfolio of 22 clinics in 10 states and expects to have approximately 28 clinics by year end 2016. VPP is headquartered near Philadelphia in King of Prussia, PA (www.vetpartners.com).

“The management team at VPP is excited to partner with Pamlico Capital,” said Mr. Lester. “Their involvement with co‐ownership business models, accelerating growth at their portfolio companies, and specific experience in multi‐site healthcare, will be invaluable as we look to expand our business.”

Pamlico Capital invests from $25 million to $100 million in companies with total enterprise values of between $50 million and $250 million.  Sectors of interest include business and technology services, communications, and healthcare. Pamlico was founded in 1988 and is based in Charlotte (www.pamlicocapital.com).

“Pamlico had identified the veterinary services market as an area of focus and was actively seeking an opportunity in the space,” said Pamlico Partner Scott Perper. “We are impressed with the caliber and breadth of the VPP management team, as well as the opportunity the company has to capitalize on the favorable trends in the veterinary services market.”

VPP is the eleventh platform investment for Pamlico Capital III, a $650 million fund which closed in October 2013.

Deerfield Management Company, the seller of VPP, is an investor in the healthcare sector and has offices in New York, Shanghai, and near Lausanne in Epalinges, Switzerland (www.deerfield.com).

Harris Williams & Co. (www.harriswilliams.com) served as the financial advisor to VPP. The transaction was led by Geoff Smith, Whit Knier, Nick Owens and Taylor Will of the firm’s healthcare & life sciences group.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 8-2-16

Serent Capital Exits Commissions Inc.

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Serent Capital has signed an agreement to sell Commissions, Inc. to publicly-traded Fidelity National Financial.

Commissions, Inc. (CINC) provides a software platform that is used by residential real estate agents and agent teams for customer relationship management, lead generation, and lead management. The company has more than 1,500 customers who collectively have closed more than 170,000 residential real estate transactions over the last twelve months. CINC was founded in 2011 by its CEO Duane LeGate and CTO Brian O’Neal. The company is headquartered in Marietta, GA (www.commissionsinc.com).

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNFV) is organized into two groups, FNF Group and FNF Ventures Group. FNF Group is a provider of title insurance, technology and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries.  FNF Group is the nation’s largest title insurance company through its title insurance underwriters: Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Alamo Title and National Title of New York. FNF Ventures is the private equity arm of the business and holds majority and minority equity interests in a number of companies including American Blue Ribbon, a restaurant holding company (www.abrholdings.com); Ceridian HCM, a provider of outsourced human resource services (www.ceridian.com); and Digital Insurance, an employee benefits-only agency serving small and mid-size businesses (www.digitalinsurance.com). Fidelity National Financial is headquartered in Jacksonville (www.fnf.com).

“To this point, CINC’s strong revenue and customer growth has been largely organic, with minimal sales force efforts needed,” said FNF Chairman, William Foley. “We plan to leverage FNF’s title sales force to proactively cross-sell the CINC product suite to our leading customers.”

“We look at everything from a 360-degree perspective,” said Mr. LeGate. “Joining FNF is a huge win for everyone involved.  Our clients get fresher, richer data with more access to actionable home buyers and sellers. Our employees get the capabilities and backing of a Fortune 500 company to help accelerate our growth. Most importantly, we are perfectly aligned culturally and know that we will be able to continue running the business as we always have, but with vastly increased resources.”

Serent Capital, which acquired CINC in April 2015, invests from $10 million to $50 million in service businesses with revenues of $10 million to $100 million and EBITDAs up to $15 million.  Transaction types include buyouts, recapitalizations and growth capital. The firm is based in San Francisco (www.serentcapital.com).

FirstMerit Bank (www.firstmerit.com) provided senior financing and Five Points Capital – formerly BB&T Capital Partners – provided mezzanine debt in support of the transaction.  Five Points is led by its four managing partners David Townsend, Martin Gilmore, Christopher Jones, and Thomas Westbrook.  The firm is headquartered in Winston-Salem, NC (www.fivepointscapital.com).

Los Angeles-based Cody Peak Advisors (www.codypeakadv.com) served as the financial advisor to Dr. Smoothie Brands.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 8-2-16