Archives for August 18, 2016

Gridiron Hires New Director of Business Development

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Gridiron Capital has hired Sean Kelley as a Principal and Director of Business Development. Prior to joining Gridiron, Mr. Kelley served as a vice president in the investment banking division at BB&T Capital Markets.

Mr. Kelley’s responsibilities at BB&T included executing M&A and capital raising assignments for middle-market private equity groups and their portfolio companies. Previously in his career, Mr. Kelley was an associate at Credit Suisse and an analyst in Deutsche Bank’s investment banking division.  Mr. Kelley graduated from Wake Forest with a BA in Economics and has an MBA from the University of Virginia.

“We have enjoyed getting to know Sean over the past several years and knew he would be a perfect fit as we look to expand the team and build new relationships,” said Tom Burger, a Managing Partner at Gridiron Capital. “The entire Gridiron team will continue to focus on developing strong relationships with business owners and intermediaries, and Sean will be a valuable addition to that effort.  We look forward to Sean joining the team and know his knowledge, experience and proven track record will undoubtedly help continue Gridiron’s successful growth.”

Gridiron Capital invests in manufacturing, service and specialty consumer companies that have EBITDAs from $5 million to $30 million and that are located in the United States and Canada. The firm is based in New Canaan, CT (www.gridironcapital.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 8-18-16

Constitution Capital Partners Adds Two Professionals

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Lower middle market investor Constitution Capital Partners has added two professionals to its team with the hiring’s of Raymond Shih as an Associate and Athilia Chau Banh as a Staff Accountant.

“We are excited to welcome Raymond and Athilia to Constitution Capital,” said Daniel Cahill, Managing Partner. “Both bring experience and perspective that will add to the depth of knowledge of our staff, and will support our proactive approach to investment sourcing and commitment to providing a high quality investor experience.”

Before joining Constitution Capital, Mr. Shih was an Analyst at Landmark Partners where he evaluated investment opportunities through due diligence, industry research, and preparing financial models. Mr. Shih received a BS in Mathematics from Bentley University and a Master of Finance from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Ms. Banh joins Constitution Capital’s operations team as a Staff Accountant from State Street Capital, where she served as a Fund Administrator and Client Service Representative, focused on compliance, client financial statements and account reconciliation. Ms. Banh received a BS in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts.

“In growing our team, the firm is focused on identifying top investment and operations talent to support all aspects of our business and ensure that we are well resourced to continue our success,” said John Guinee, Managing Partner. “Our cohesive team has been the cornerstone of Constitution Capital. As we strategically grow our staff concurrent with our portfolio growth and increased assets under management, we are diligent to add professionals who will seamlessly integrate into our firm, and the addition of Raymond and Athilia is exemplary of that approach.”

Constitution Capital makes fund investments and direct investments in North America-based small to mid-cap opportunities.  The firm’s limited partners are largely institutional investors, family offices and high net worth investors from the US, UK, Europe, South America and Asia. In June 2015, Constitution Capital Partners held a final close of its latest fund, Ironsides III Private Equity Partnership/Co-Investment Fund LP, with $823 million in capital commitments. The firm is headquartered in Boston (www.concp.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 8-18-16

Golden Gate Sells Phillips-Medisize

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Golden Gate Capital has agreed to sell its portfolio company Phillips-Medisize Corporation to Molex. Golden Gate acquired the company in June 2014 from Kohlberg & Company.

Phillips-Medisize is an outsourced provider of design and manufacturing services to the medical device and diagnostics, drug delivery, and commercial markets. The company has annual sales of over $700 million with 80% of revenue coming from such products as disposable insulin pens, glucose meters, inhalation devices, single use surgical devices and consumable diagnostic components. The company employs over 4,300 people in 17 production locations throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico and China. Phillips-Medisize is headquartered east of Minneapolis in Hudson, WI (www.phillipsmedisize.com).

The founding of Phillips-Medisize dates back to 1964 when Robert Cervenka and Louie Vokurka founded Phillips Plastics. The company was sold to Kohlberg & Company in 2010. In 2011 Phillips acquired European molder Medisize to become Phillips-Medisize. Golden Gate Capital then bought Phillips-Medisize from Kohlberg & Company in 2014. In June 2016, Phillips-Medisize acquired Injectronics, a Boston-based contract engineering and manufacturing services provider to the consumable diagnostics and medical device sector.

“In just three years of our ownership, Phillips-Medisize has executed on a transformative vision to become a global leader in the manufacturing of biologics drug delivery devices. We would like to thank all the employees for their hard work and wish them well in the future,” said Rajeev Amara, a Managing Director of Golden Gate Capital.

Golden Gate Capital targets companies across a range of industries and transaction types, including leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, corporate divestitures and spin-offs, build-ups and venture stage investing. The firm has approximately $12 billion of capital under management and is based in San Francisco (www.goldengatecap.com).

Molex, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, is a manufacturer of electronic, electrical and fiber optic interconnection systems. The company is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Lisle (www.molex.com).

Morgan Stanley & Co. (www.morganstanley.com) is the financial advisor to Molex on this transaction.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 8-18-16

Sun Capital Acquires Smart Grid Business from Tollgrade

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Aclara Technologies, a portfolio company of Sun Capital Partners, has acquired the smart grid business of Tollgrade Communications.

The transaction includes Tollgrade’s LightHouse Sensor Management System (SMS) monitoring platform which is used to detect, in real-time, electrical faults across medium voltage distribution networks. In addition, the LightHouse SMS also provides predictive analytics such as fault event classification, load logging, reporting and graphing of data, and alarms. Once LightHouse Sensors are placed on overhead lines, they immediately begin to monitor load capacity and report data to determine how networks and assets (e.g. transformers, overhead cables and switch gear) are operating. By knowing how the network is performing on a real time basis, customers can push their network to run more efficiently and free up capacity rather than build out new infrastructure.

Aclara Technologies is a provider of advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) products and services that are used by electric, gas and water utilities to remotely access real-time consumption data. The product and service fit between LightHouse SMS and Aclara could not be better.

“This is an important step forward for Aclara as a leader in smart infrastructure, and the addition of the LightHouse platform allows Aclara to grow its industry leadership and expand its solutions to better serve utility customers around the globe,” said Daniel Florian, a Principal at Sun Capital. “This acquisition demonstrates our continued execution of the company’s growth strategy following Aclara’s purchase of GE’s electricity meters business in December 2015.”

Aclara services more than 600 utility customers with over 21 million endpoints deployed. According to Sun Capital, the company is the leading power line carrier vendor in the electric AMI market; ranks first in cumulative AMI units sold to fixed network gas utilities, including PG&E and SoCalGas; and manages some of the largest water AMI installations in North America, including New York City, Washington DC, San Francisco, Boston, and Toronto. The company is headquartered in St. Louis (www.aclara.com).

Sun Capital invests in leveraged buyouts, equity, and debt in companies that can benefit from its in-house operating professionals and experience. Sun Capital has invested in and managed more than 330 companies worldwide with combined sales in excess of $45 billion since the firm’s inception in 1995. The firm has offices in Boca Raton, Los Angeles and New York, and affiliates in London, Frankfurt, Stockholm and Shenzhen (www.SunCapPart.com).

Tollgrade Communications is headquartered in Reston, VA (www.tollgrade.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 8-18-16

Sverica Acquires RMS Healthcare

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Sverica Capital Management has acquired a majority stake in RMS Healthcare Management, a provider of management services to Med First Immediate Care and Family Practice (Med First).

Med First provides primary care, urgent care and occupational medicine services through 13 clinics located across rural North Carolina and South Carolina. RMS is headquartered in Jacksonville, NC (www.thinkmedfirst.com).

Dr. Randy Schilsky, the founder and CEO of RMS, will remain involved in business development for Med First under Sverica ownership. “I am excited to partner with an experienced healthcare investor like Sverica Capital. Their track record working with growing healthcare companies was a major factor in my decision to select them as a partner.”

Sverica invests in service oriented businesses and light industrial manufacturers. The firm targets companies with enterprise values under $100 million and EBITDAs greater than $3 million. Sverica was founded in 1993 and has raised over $700 million of capital across four funds.  The firm has offices in Boston and San Francisco (www.sverica.com).

Med First is a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) and participates in the North Carolina Medical Society’s Rural ACO initiative. According to the American College of Physicians, a PCMH is a care delivery model that coordinates a patient’s medical treatment through their primary care physician to ensure they receive the necessary care when and where they need it. The objective is to have a centralized setting that facilitates partnerships between individual patients and their personal physicians and, when appropriate, the patient’s family.

“Med First is one of only a small number of primary care practices that are both Patient Centered Medical Home certified and offer the convenience of an urgent care model,” said Gregg Osenkowski, a Vice President at Sverica Capital. “This combination is particularly relevant for rural markets where there is a chronic shortage of quality primary care services.”

This transaction marks Sverica’s second investment made from its fourth fund, Sverica Capital Partners Fund IV LP, which closed in March 2016 at its hard cap of $275 million.

St. Louis-based Cadiz Capital (www.cadizcapital.com), an investor in the energy, healthcare, information technology, and manufacturing sectors, co-invested alongside Sverica in the transaction.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 8-18-16

Yukon Backs Sorenson’s Buy of Axiom

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Yukon Partners was a co-investor alongside Sorenson Capital in the recent acquisition of Axiom Materials.

Axiom Materials is a composite materials manufacturer with a specialization in “prepreg” materials – (prepreg is a term for “pre-impregnated” composite fibers where a matrix material, such as epoxy, is already present). Axiom sells its products to companies in the aerospace, military, automotive, industrial, sports and medical industries. The company was founded by Johnny Lincoln, Ph.D., and is based near Los Angeles in Santa Ana, CA (www.axiommaterials.com).

Yukon Partners makes subordinated debt and equity investments of $10 million to $40 million in middle market, private equity sponsored business transactions.  The types of transactions that Yukon invests in include buyouts, growth and platform strategies, recapitalizations, mergers & acquisitions, public- to-private buyouts, and refinancings. The firm is based in Minneapolis (www.yukonpartners.com).

“Yukon is excited to partner with Axiom and Sorenson to support the next phase of the company’s growth,” said William Dietz, Managing Partner of Yukon. “Axiom’s reputation as an innovative and leading manufacturer of advanced composite materials positions it well for continued, profitable growth in the evolutionary composites space.”

Sorenson Capital invests from $10 million to $40 million in small to middle-market buyout and growth equity opportunities with a particular focus on companies located in the Mountain and Western regions of the US. The firm has more than $1 billion in capital under management and is headquartered in Salt Lake City (www.sorensoncapital.com).

NXT Capital (www.nxtcapital.com) provided the senior credit facility in support of the transaction.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 8-18-16