Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Wind Point Partners have agreed to acquire Aurora Plastics from its founders. Aurora Plastics provides custom compounding of rigid polyvinyl chloride.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is the third-most widely produced synthetic plastic polymer. PVC comes in two basic forms: rigid (RPVC) and flexible. The rigid form of PVC is used in the construction of pipe and in profile applications such as doors and windows.
Aurora Plastics specialty is custom RPVC powders, pellets, foams and alloys that it sells to small and medium sized manufacturers, primarily in the building products end markets. The company has facilities in Streetsboro, OH (north of Akron) and Welcome, NC (south of Winston-Salem) that have a combined blending capacity of more than 500 million pounds. Aurora Plastics was founded in 1997 (www.auroraplastics.com).
“We are excited about our acquisition of Aurora Plastics,” said Jane Rowe, Senior Vice-President, Private Capital, Ontario Teachers’. “The company is a market leader, with best-in-class products and growth potential, and we have excellent and proven partners in Wind Point Partners and their executive advisor Mike Fitzpatrick, who have strong expertise in this sector.”
“In addition to being known for its high quality products, under the previous owners and current management Aurora also has built a stellar reputation in the industry for its technical expertise and customer service,” added Ms. Rowe. “With the combination of their capabilities, Wind Point Partners’ deep thermoplastic compounding sector experience, and our strong value creation record in the industrials space, we see Aurora becoming a robust growth platform.”
Teachers’ Private Capital (TPC) manages the group’s private equity investments and is led by Ms. Rowe. TPC was launched in 1991 and has invested in more than 300 companies and funds, deploying more than $35 billion in capital. The group has offices in Toronto, New York and London (www.teachersprivatecapital.com).
Wind Point invests from $20 million to $70 million of equity in companies with revenues from $100 million to $500 million and EBITDAs of at least $8 million. Industries of interest include business services, consumer products, healthcare and industrial products. The firm has approximately $3 billion in capital under management. Wind Point Partners was founded in 1984 and is based in Chicago (www.wppartners.com).
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, led by president and chief executive officer Ron Mock, and chief investment officer Bjarne Graven Larsen, is one of Canada’s largest and most active pension investors. Teachers’ portfolio of assets, 80% of which is managed in-house, has earned an annualized rate of return of 10.3% since the plan’s founding in 1990. Teachers’ has offices in Toronto, Hong Kong and London (www.otpp.com).
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 8-5-16
