Archives for October 2016

Wellspring Buys Hoffmaster from Metalmark

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Wellspring Capital Management has agreed to acquire Hoffmaster Group, a maker of disposable tableware, from Metalmark Capital.

Hoffmaster’s products – which include napkins, plates, placemats, and table covers – are sold to foodservice distributors, retail, grocery, mass merchants and club-store customers. The company was founded in February 1947 by B.T. Hoffmaster as a maker of paper napkin products. Hoffmaster is headquartered in Oshkosh, WI (www.hoffmaster.com). The current management team of Hoffmaster – led by CEO Rory Leyden – will continue with the company under Wellspring ownership.

Hoffmaster has a private equity lineage. In October 2007, New York-based Kohlberg & Company acquired two companies – Hoffmaster Company from Solo Cup and Converting, Inc. from Mason Wells – and merged the two companies under the new name of Hoffmaster Group. Under its ownership, Kohlberg completed a number of add-ons including the September 2008 buy of lace and linen paper products makers Brooklace and Smith-Lee (they shared common ownership); and paper plate and napkin maker InnoWare Paper in April 2011. In December 2011, Kohlberg sold Hoffmaster Group to Metalmark Capital.

Hoffmaster Group, under Metalmark ownership, acquired Graphic Management Specialty Products, a provider of tabletop products to the healthcare and food service markets, food packaging and contract manufacturing industries, in September 2013.

“We are pleased to acquire Hoffmaster, which is the established leader in the growing disposable tableware sector,” said John Morningstar, a Managing Partner of Wellspring who leads the firm’s packaging sector investments. “The company is well-respected in its markets and has strong and established relationships with a diverse range of customers. We look forward to partnering with the Hoffmaster management team to capitalize on a range of attractive growth opportunities, including select acquisitions.” Also working on this transaction for Wellspring is Matthew Harrison, Principal.

Wellspring Capital Management is a middle-market private equity firm that manages more than $3 billion of private equity capital. The firm was founded in 1995 and is based in New York (www.wellspringcapital.com).

The buy of Hoffmaster by Wellspring is expected to close by the end of November.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 10-20-16

Huron Starts Building Up Hunting Platform

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Good Sportsman Marketing (GSM), the hunting accessories platform company of Huron Capital Partners, has acquired HME Products. This is the first add-on acquisition for GSM since being acquired by Huron Capital in June 2016.

HME designs and distributes a variety of tools that assist hunters in the field. The company’s products include accessory hooks, deer gambrels and drags, tree-stand accessories, and gloves. HME customers include sporting goods, farm & fleet, e-commerce and specialty retailers across the US. The company was founded in 2000 and is based north of Minneapolis in Isanti, MN (www.hmeproducts.com).

GSM’s products include scouting, surveillance and action cameras; hearing amplification and protection devices; portable LED lighting; game calls and deer feeders. The company’s products are sold through specialty retailers, mass merchants and online. Brand names include StealthCam, Walker’s, Cyclops, and American Hunter. GSM is led by CEO Eddie Castro and is headquartered near Dallas in Grand Prairie, TX (www.gsmoutdoors.com).

The acquisition of HME will add a number of hunting accessory products that are highly complementary to GSM’s existing product lineup. “We believe HME is a great fit for GSM, and we are pleased to complete this add-on acquisition so soon after our initial investment in GSM. We are excited to work with the GSM team to pursue additional acquisitions and other growth initiatives as we seek to build out the GSM platform,” said Sean Roberts, a Principal at Huron Capital.

Huron Capital Partners invests up to $70 million per transaction in middle market companies that have revenues up to $200 million and EBITDAs of $5 million or more. Sectors of interest include specialty manufacturing, business services, consumer goods & services, and healthcare. Huron was founded in 1999 and currently manages over $1.1 billion in committed equity through four private equity funds. The firm has offices in Detroit and Toronto (www.huroncapital.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 10-20-16

Goode Partners Buys Forman Mills

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Goode Partners has acquired Forman Mills, a seller of off-price apparel, footwear and home goods through a network of 36 stores in nine states.

Forman Mills was founded by Richard Forman, CEO and President, in 1985. The company is based near Philadelphia in Pennsauken, NJ (www.formanmills.com). Mr. Forman will serve as an advisor to the company under Goode’s ownership.

With the closing of the transaction, Goode Partners has named Allen Weinstein – a veteran retail store operator – as Executive Chairman of the company’s board of directors and Interim Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Weinstein currently serves as Executive Chairman of Villa, a footwear and apparel retailer that is also a portfolio company of Goode Partners.

Goode intends to back the company’s continued store expansion and invest in needed infrastructure to accelerate growth. “We are delighted to be acquiring Forman Mills from Richard Forman.  Richard and his management team have built a great company that has a long history of providing family apparel with great style, selection, and value to its customers,” said David Oddi, a Partner at Goode. “We plan to continue to expand geographically over the next several years and invest in the company’s infrastructure. Our first priority is to improve the shopping experience for our customers by investing in our people and supporting them with additional resources, including an upgraded point-of-sale system.”

Monroe Capital (www.monroecap.com) was the sole lead arranger and administrative agent on a $32.5 million senior credit facility to support the acquisition. New York-based Cohesive Capital Partners (www.cohesivecapital.com) co-invested in this transaction alongside Goode Partners.

Goode Capital Partners invests from $10 million to $30 million of equity in consumer-oriented companies. The firm has a specific interest in consumer brands and services, retail, restaurants, and direct marketing/selling.  Goode Capital Partners is based in New York (www.goodepartners.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 10-20-16

Pritzker Buys ProAmpac from Wellspring

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Pritzker Group Private Capital has signed an agreement to acquire ProAmpac, a provider of flexible packaging and a portfolio company of Wellspring Capital Management. It is expected that the transaction will be completed by year end.

ProAmpac’s packaging capabilities include adhesive lamination, extrusion coating and lamination, film extrusion, metalizing, pouching, bag converting, rotogravure printing, flexographic/offset printing, and HD flexo printing. The company operates under the Prolamina, Ampac and Tulsack brands and serves customers in the food, medical, pet food, security, industrial and specialty retail markets. ProAmpac is led by CEO Greg Tucker and has more than 2,400 employees across 18 manufacturing locations in North America, Europe and Asia. The company is headquartered in Cincinnati (www.proampac.com).

“ProAmpac’s diverse product lines and strong market position make it a strong platform for growth in flexible packaging,” said Michael Nelson, a Partner at Pritzker Group Private Capital. “Pritzker Group continues to expand our investments in the packaging sector with this clear market leader.”

Pritzker Group, led by Tony and J.B. Pritzker, has three principal investment teams: Private Capital, which acquires and operates North America-based middle-market companies in the manufactured products, services and healthcare sectors; Venture Capital, which provides early-stage and growth venture funding to technology companies; and Asset Management, which partners with investment managers across global public markets.  The Pritzker Group is based in Chicago (www.pritzkergroup.com).

“ProAmpac is a leader in flexible packaging with an outstanding management team,” said J.B. Pritzker, managing partner of Pritzker Group. “Combining our permanent, proprietary capital base with this management team will enable ProAmpac to have tremendous opportunities for growth, both through organic initiatives and accretive acquisitions.”

Wellspring first invested in ProAmpac when it acquired Prolamina Corporation in 2010.  In 2015, Prolamina acquired Ampac Packaging from H.I.G. Capital to form ProAmpac. “We are very proud of the outstanding packaging business we have built at ProAmpac, resulting in a highly successful investment,” said Matthew Harrison, a Principal of Wellspring. “We are pleased that ProAmpac is exceptionally positioned for continued growth under new ownership and wish the entire team every success in the future.”

Wellspring Capital Management is a middle-market private equity firm that manages more than $3 billion of private equity capital. The firm was founded in 1995 and is based in New York (www.wellspringcapital.com).

Lincoln International (www.lincolninternational.com) was the financial advisor to Pritzker Group Private Capital and William Blair (www.williamblair.com) was the financial advisor to Wellspring Capital.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 10-18-16

Monroe Closes Big With Latest Fund

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Monroe Capital has held a final close of Monroe Capital Private Credit Fund II LP (PCFII) with $800 million of limited partner commitments. The fund had a targeted raise of $600 million.

In addition to its limited partner commitments, PCFII has secured term credit facilities to complement its available capital. When combined with this leverage, the new fund will have approximately $1.5 billion of investable capital and becomes the largest fund raised in Monroe Capital’s 12-year firm history.

PCFII invests primarily in senior secured loans and unitranche loans to private equity sponsored and non-sponsored middle market companies located throughout the U.S and Canada.

“Private credit is an appealing area for institutional investors due to the ability to generate consistent yield in a yield starved world” said Ted Koenig, President and CEO of Monroe Capital. “Investors have many choices in this space, most of which are newly created firms over the last several years. I am very pleased and proud that the sophisticated institutional investor and limited partner community has come to understand and appreciate the differentiated absolute returns and consistent risk adjusted returns that Monroe has been able to generate for them each and every year over a 12-year period, regardless of the business cycle or the economic environment. This is truly a testament to our organization and our people.”

PCFII is Monroe Capital’s eleventh investment vehicle since its founding in 2004. The fund received commitments from over 20 new institutional investors located in the US and Europe, including public and private pension plans, insurance companies, universities, endowments, foundations, religious organizations, hospitals, non-profits, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices.

Monroe has been a very active lender in 2016. In October alone the firm has closed three transactions: it was the syndication agent on the funding of a senior credit facility to support the acquisition of Oldenburg Group Heavy Equipment by J.F. Lehman & Company; it was the sole lead arranger and administrative agent on the funding of a senior term loan to support the acquisition of The Worth Collection, Ltd. by New Water Capital. The Worth Collection had been a portfolio company of L Catterton since 2006; and it was the sole lead arranger and administrative agent on a senior credit facility to support the acquisition of ProPharma Group by Linden Capital Partners.

Monroe Capital has 70 employees, including an investment team of 45 professionals with an average of 17 years of credit, private equity, and investment experience. The firm provides senior and junior debt and equity co-investments to middle-market companies based in the US and Canada. Monroe Capital was founded in 2004 and has offices in Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco (www.monroecap.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 10-18-16

Abacus Backs BV Buy

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Abacus Finance Group was the Administrative Agent and Sole Lead Arranger for senior secured credit facilities to support the acquisition of Right Networks by BV Investment Partners.

Right Networks is a hosting and services provider for QuickBooks desktop accounting software and other applications – more than 400 – used by accountants and small and medium sized businesses (SMBs). The company has more than 25,000 SMB customers and is essentially the outsourced provider of data storage and information technology services and infrastructure. Right Networks was co-founded in 2002 by John Farrer and Philip Romine and is headquartered near Nashua in Hudson, NH (www.rightnetworks.com).

“This was our first transaction with Abacus, and we were really impressed by the speed and efficiency of their due diligence process,” said Matthew Kinsey, a partner in BV Investment Partners.

BV Investment Partners makes investments in companies active in the information and business services, and communications industries. Since its founding in 1983, the firm has invested over $2.9 billion in more than 86 companies.  BV Investment Partners is headquartered in Boston (www.bvlp.com).

“Abacus knew the sector, understood the business model and the risks,” said Sean Wilder, a principal of BV Investment Partners, “and we were able to go from mandate to close quickly.”

“This is a new relationship for us and a very promising one,” said Tim Clifford, President and CEO of Abacus. “All of us enjoyed working with Matt, Sean and their colleagues. They brought us a market-leading company, were responsive and easy to work with, and appreciated our strong industry knowledge and the quick close – key elements of what we call our Total Partnership Approach. We look forward to working with them on future transactions.”

Other Abacus team members involved in the transaction included Managing Director Sean McKeever and Senior Associate Jonathan Choa.

Abacus provides cash flow senior financing to private equity-sponsored, lower-middle market companies that have EBITDA between $3 million and $15 million. Debt facilities can be as large as $60 million with a typical hold size ranging from $10 million to $30 million.  Abacus is an affiliate of New York Private Bank & Trust, the holding company for Emigrant Bank, founded in 1850.  Abacus is based in New York (www.abacusfinance.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 10-18-16