Archives for September 29, 2016

New Head of Business Development at Murray Devine

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Valuation advisory firm Murray Devine has hired Robert Tribuiani as a new Managing Director and Head of Business Development.

Mr. Tribuiani will be responsible for developing, executing and managing sales strategies, focusing on private equity and venture capital firms, debt and hedge funds, banks and corporations. Mr. Tribuiani joins Murray Devine after spending ten years at consulting firm SolomonEdwards where he was a senior business development executive.

“Rob has deep experience and relationships within the private investment community and understands the complex issues impacting clients,” said Dennis Murray, President of Murray Devine. “We are excited to have him join the firm in a leadership role and spearhead Murray Devine’s business development strategy. He represents a valued and integral addition to our growing organization.”

“For over 25 years, Murray Devine has been well known for its commitment to providing a remarkable level of reliable and responsive client service and valuation expertise that is unparalleled in the industry,” said Mr. Tribuiani. “They are firmly entrenched as an industry leader with an extremely loyal client base. I am excited to work alongside my colleagues at the firm and expand upon those existing relationships and bring new opportunities to Murray Devine.”

Prior to SolomonEdwards, Mr. Tribuiani held positions in sales and business development for Penn Valley Group, Longview Solutions and VerticalNet. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Villanova University. Mr. Tribuiani and his wife Jeannine live in Yardley, PA with their twin daughters.

Murray Devine provides financial opinions and advisory services to private equity, corporate, venture capital, and commercial banking institutions. The firm was founded in 1989 and has offices in Philadelphia and New York (www.murraydevine.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 9-29-16

Paine & Partners Buys Global ID

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Paine & Partners has entered into an agreement to acquire The Global ID Group, a provider of food safety and food quality testing and accreditation services, from Inverness Graham Investments which acquired the company in November 2013 from LFE Capital.

Global ID Group provides food safety and food quality services including testing, inspection, certification, and consulting. The company has three operating groups: Genetic ID, CERT ID, and FoodChain ID.

  • Genetic ID is an ISO-accredited testing laboratory that provides testing services for GMO, pathogen, gluten, animal speciation and food authenticity.
  • CERT ID administers Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarked food safety and food quality certifications including SQF, BRC, GlobalG.A.P. and ISO 22000. According to Global ID, the company’s Non-GMO certification is the most widely recognized global standard for certifying non-GMO food production operations in the world.
  • FoodChain ID provides technical services in non-GMO verification, non-GMO ingredient supply chain, food label review and regulatory compliance. FoodChain ID has verified more than 95 percent of the Non-GMO Project Verified market in North America—over 35,000 products representing thousands of brands, manufacturers, processors, growers, distributors, packers, and exporters.

Global ID Group is headquartered in Fairfield, IA with additional locations in Europe and South America. The company has more than 15,000 clients in over 100 countries. Ken Ross, Chief Executive Officer of Global ID, and the rest of the company’s senior management will continue to lead Global ID’s operations (www.global-id-group.com).

“We have seen the increasing focus on food safety at several of our portfolio companies firsthand, which led to our team strategically developing a deep understanding of the food safety and testing sector. As one of the largest food and agribusiness focused private equity firms, we intend to be a strong, value-added partner to Global ID. Given rising consumer awareness, the globalization of the food chain and the increasing complexity of the regulatory environment, we see strong tail winds that will support Global ID’s growth as an industry leader,” said Angelos Dassios, a Partner of Paine & Partners. “We are enthusiastic about partnering with the Global ID management team to achieve their organic growth and acquisition ambitions, and look forward to capturing the opportunities that lay ahead.”

Paine & Partners provides equity for management buyouts, going private transactions, and company expansion and growth programs. Sectors of interest include the food and agribusiness industries.  The firm is currently investing through its $893 million Paine & Partners Fund IV. Paine & Partners was founded in 2006 and has offices in New York, Chicago and San Mateo, CA (www.painepartners.com).

Inverness Graham, the seller of Global ID, manages $500 million in capital commitments and was formed by senior executives of the Graham Group, an industrial and investment concern with interests in plastics, packaging, recycling, building products and outsourced manufacturing.  Inverness Graham is based near Philadelphia in Newtown Square, PA (www.invernessgraham.com).

Inverness Graham acquired Global ID in November 2013 after a search in the food safety and testing market with industry expert, David Acheson.  Mr. Acheson is the former Chief Medical Officer at the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

“Our investment thesis was predicated on continued strong market growth driven by increasing regulatory requirements, rapidly evolving consumer preferences for knowledge and safe food, and growing international trade within an increasingly complex global food supply chain,” said Trey Sykes, Managing Principal of Inverness Graham.  “In partnership with management, we were able to successfully execute our strategic vision by optimizing operations, adding new products, enhancing the management team and expanding the technology and software functionality, all of which led to nearly doubling sales and tripling EBITDA over our three year hold.”

Houlihan Lokey (www.hl.com) advised Inverness Graham on the sale.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 9-29-16

Arsenal Acquires Alkon Solutions

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Polymer Solutions Group, a manufacturer of specialty polymers and additives and a portfolio company of Arsenal Capital Partners, has acquired Alkon Solutions from Stephenson Group Ltd.

Alkon is a manufacturer of anti-tack products that are used in the rubber industry. Anti-tack products are materials designed to eliminate the self-adhesive quality of rubber products and are applied to products to form a thin protective anti-tack layer on the surface. The company is based northeast of Liverpool in Leeds, UK (www.stephensonalkonsolutions.com).

Polymer Solutions Group (PSG) was formed by Arsenal in June 2015 when the firm acquired Peach State Labs, a provider of specialty polymers and performance chemicals. In February 2016, PSG acquired Flow Polymers, a manufacturer of chemical dispersions, process aids and homogenizing agents used in the tire, automotive, industrial products, wire and cable, and plastics markets. Chemical dispersions and agents are used by manufacturers to shorten the processing time and temperatures of thermoplastic resins such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, ABS and nylon. In April 2016, PSG acquired SASCO Chemical Group, a maker of specialty chemicals – specifically rubber anti-tack agents – used in the rubber, wood, consumer and medical industries. PSG is led by President and CEO Mike Ivany and is headquartered northwest of Atlanta in Rome, GA (www.peachstatelabs.com) (www.flowpolymers.com) (www.sascochemical.com).

The buy of Alkon adds additional anti-tack technology and geographic scope to the operations of SASCO, an operating unit of PSG based in Albany, GA. “The addition of Alkon to the group broadens our anti-tack product offerings and accelerates the build-out of our global rubber additives business,” said Mr. Ivany. “Alkon’s premium anti-tack products, customer service and support fit perfectly with SASCO’s state of the art anti-tack slurry systems. By coupling SASCO and Alkon with Flow Polymers, PSG continues to expand our rubber processing additives business foundation and global footprint.”

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).

Stephenson Group Ltd., the seller of Alkon Solutions, is a specialty chemical company headquartered in Leeds, UK. The company was founded in 1856 and is owned by Thos. Bentley & Son Ltd., and led by CEO Jamie Bentley – now the fifth generation of the family to be involved with the company (www.stephensongroup.co.uk).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 9-29-16

Housatonic Invests in Accurate Monitoring

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Housatonic Partners has acquired Accurate Monitoring, a provider of outsourced medical monitoring services.

Accurate Monitoring is a provider of outsourced intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) services to hospitals and surgical groups throughout New York and New Jersey. IONM is the use of electrophysiological methods – such as electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) – to monitor the functional integrity of certain neural structures (e.g., nerves, spinal cord and parts of the brain) during surgery. Accurate, accredited by The Joint Commission, was founded in 2007 and is headquartered near New York City in Fairfield, NJ (www.accuratemonitoring.com).

Since its founding the company has achieved strong revenue growth and sought a growth equity partner to continue regional and national expansion. “After years of successful growth in New Jersey and New York, we are ready to expand our clinical services to new markets and are pleased to be partnering with Housatonic Partners,” said Accurate CEO Frank Gazzillo. “The expertise and capital that Housatonic brings to the table should enable us to expand our ability to provide high quality outsourced clinical services to new markets.”

Housatonic Partners invests from $10 million to $30 million in buyout or recapitalization transactions. Typical investment targets will have internal revenue growth opportunities; recurring revenues; high EBITDA margins; moderate capital needs; and strong management teams. The firm was founded in 1994 and has offices in Boston and San Francisco (www.housatonicpartners.com).

Capstone Partners (www.capstonepartnerslp.com) was the financial advisor to Accurate Monitoring on this transaction. “Healthcare providers are increasingly relying on outsourced service providers with the experience and clinical skill sets to help enhance patient safety, lower costs through reduced patient stays, respond quickly to fluctuating patient levels/demand, and avoid expensive and resource consuming hospital readmissions,” said Eric Williams, a Managing Director of Capstone. “As a result, we expect the outsourced clinical services sector to experience heightened M&A activity as private equity and strategic suitors look to capitalize on favorable demographic and industry trends.”

“The IONM sector, which is highly fragmented and benefiting from an aging population and an increased prevalence of chronic disease, has seen two major deals completed within the past few months. In addition to the Accurate transaction, medical device company NuVasive acquired IONM provider Biotronic NeuroNetwork for $98 million in July 2016,” said Mark Surowiak, a Director at Capstone.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 9-29-16

Primus Makes Growth Investment in Certona

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Primus Capital has made a growth investment in Certona, a provider of software that provides for the profiling of digital retail shoppers. The new capital will be used to grow market share, accelerate product development and expand services and support for existing and new clients.

Certona pioneered the use of machine learning and predictive algorithms to provide real-time profiling of digital retail shoppers. Within 3-4 clicks on a site, Certona’s products enable retailers to predict the next best action for the shopper in order to improve customer engagement, conversions, average order value (AOV) and – most importantly – total sales. Certona’s products are used on over 500 top e-commerce websites in more than 70 countries. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in San Diego (www.certona.com).

“As digital commerce takes a larger share of the overall retail market, Certona continues to set the pace by providing robust, best-of-breed personalization solutions to an impressive retail client base,” said Ron Hess, Director of Primus. “We are excited about Certona’s growth prospects and impressed with the company’s solid business fundamentals and strong leadership team.”

Primus invests from $15 million to $70 million in companies within the healthcare, software, and technology-enabled services sectors. Transaction types include management-led buyouts, control and non-control recapitalizations and growth equity investments. The firm was founded in 1983 and is investing through Primus Capital Fund VII, a $353 million fund closed in 2013. Primus is based in Cleveland (www.primuscapital.com).

“We look forward to working with Primus as our strategic partner to bring capital and market perspective to help Certona with this exciting growth stage,” said Meyar Sheik, CEO and co-founder of Certona. “Primus’ track record of success with SaaS companies will be extremely valuable in further scaling the business over time.”

“The digital commerce industry is experiencing rapid growth due to ever-increasing consumer demand,” said Geoffrey Hueter, PhD, CTO and co-founder of Certona. “This funding will enable us to fuel strategic initiatives around new market opportunities, product innovations and support offerings.”

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 9-29-16