February 3, 2017
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Archives for February 3, 2017

Clare Leads New CCP Office

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Constitution Capital Partners (CCP) has hired Daniel Clare as a Partner and head of the firm’s new office in New York. Mr. Clare, who will focus on building out CCP’s newly established credit business, will have overall responsibility for the New York office and will report directly to Co-Managing Partners, Daniel Cahill and John Guinee.

“Dan is a terrific addition to our team from both a business and a cultural standpoint,” said Mr. Cahill. “We searched for and considered many other qualified candidates, but Dan inevitably set himself apart as the leader we need to expand our business offerings and enhance our relationships within the middle market.”

Mr. Clare has over 20 years of industry experience and from 2010 to 2016 was a Managing Director at Ascribe Capital, formerly known as American Securities Opportunities Fund, which invests in the debt and equity securities of middle-market companies. Earlier, he was a Senior Managing Director at Diamond Castle, a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in middle market companies. Prior to Diamond Castle, Mr. Clare was an investment professional at CSFB Private Equity/DLJ Merchant Banking Partners. Mr. Clare began his professional career as a management consultant at Bain & Company and in the investment banking division at Goldman Sachs & Co. He has a BA in Political Science from Haverford College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

“I am thrilled to be joining the CCP team and am eager to begin implementing the firm’s strategy for the New York office,” said Mr. Clare. “CCP has worked diligently to establish a top-tier reputation and I very much look forward to helping execute on strategic investment opportunities and to build upon the firm’s strong history.”

In January 2017, CCP closed its latest fund, Ironsides IV, with total capital commitments of $755 million. The new fund was oversubscribed and exceeded the original $500 million target. Ironsides IV invests in private equity funds and also makes direct investments in North America-based small to mid-cap companies. The firm invests in funds that have from $200 million to $1.5 billion in total commitments and makes direct investments in companies that have enterprise values from $100 million to $1 billion. Credit investments stretch across the capital structure and include senior loans, corporate bonds, and mezzanine debt.

Constitution Capital Partners manages approximately $2.7 billion of assets and is headquartered in Boston (www.concp.com).

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | February 3, 2017

Great Hill Stays Great

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Great Hill Partners has held a first and final closing of Great Hill Equity Partners VI, LP, at the hard cap of $1.5 billion. Fundraising began in September with a target of $1.25 billion. Great Hill did not use a placement agent for this fundraise.

Great Hill invests from $25 million to $150 million of capital per transaction to finance the expansion, recapitalization or acquisition of growth companies in a range of sectors within the business and consumer services, healthcare, media, communications and software industries. Typical transaction sizes range from $25 million to $500 million.

Fund VI will be invested by Great Hill Partners’ team of 25 investment professionals, led by Managing Partners Christopher Gaffney, Michael Kumin, Mark Taber, Matthew Vettel; Partners Christopher Busby, Nick Cayer, Rafael Cofiño, Peter Garran; and CFO Laurie Gerber.

Great Hill was founded in 1998 and is based in Boston (www.greathillpartners.com).

Latham & Watkins (www.lw.com) was the financial advisor to Great Hill.

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | February 3, 2017

Advent Forms Sovos, Closes First Buy

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Advent International has formed Sovos Brands to acquire Michael Angelo’s Gourmet Foods, a producer of frozen Italian entrées.

Michael Angelo’s has grown organically from a small, regional business to a national prepared meal brand, and has approximately $100 million in annual sales. The company’s single-serve and multi-serve meals are made in small batches and include a variety of frozen pasta dishes, including lasagna, baked ziti, chicken parmesan and shrimp scampi. The company’s products are sold through grocery stores, natural food stores and warehouse club stores nationwide. Michael Angelo’s is a family-owned and operated business that was founded in 1983 by Michael Angelo and his mother, Sara. The company is headquartered in Austin (www.michaelangelos.com).

Michael Angelo’s is the first investment by Sovos Brands (sovos is Latin for unique or one-of-a-kind). According to Advent, the goal for the new platform is to acquire and build one-of-a-kind brands to establish a scale player in the consumer packaged goods industry. Sovos will focus on high-quality brands in on-trend categories that have the potential to accelerate growth through investment in distribution, marketing, production and product innovation.

“The acquisition of Michael Angelo’s is an important first step in our plan to build a food and beverage company of significant scale,” said David Roberts, a Principal at Advent International. “Advent and the team at Sovos will focus on supporting Michael Angelo’s expansion while pursuing acquisitions of other high-potential businesses from founders, financial sponsors and large consumer packaged goods companies.”

Sovos Brands is led by Todd Lachman, President and CEO; Larry Bodner, CFO; and Bill Johnson, Chairman. Mr. Lachman has a 25-year record as a senior executive at major consumer products companies, including Mars, Del Monte Foods, H.J. Heinz and Procter & Gamble. Mr. Bodner has over 25 years of experience as an operationally focused financial executive at companies including Big Heart Pet Brands, Del Monte Foods, Walt Disney and Procter & Gamble. Mr. Johnson was formerly Chairman, CEO and President of H.J. Heinz. He had a 31-year career at Heinz, where he grew top- and bottom-line results across multiple segments to transform the company into a global food industry leader. Sovos is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area (www.sovosbrands.com).

Advent first partnered with Messrs. Lachman and Bodner as senior advisors to the firm in March 2016 to identify and evaluate investments in the consumer products space, specifically in the food, home and personal care sub-sectors, with an emphasis on situations where they could provide direct executive leadership.

“Michael Angelo’s exemplifies the types of businesses we are looking to acquire in the food and beverage space,” said Mr. Lachman. “It is a unique, leading branded player offering delicious food that meets today’s lifestyle and consumer demand for real, clean ingredients. We believe Michael Angelo’s has significant potential for growth through increased awareness, distribution and new product development, and we look forward to working with Michael Angelo and the management team to pursue these opportunities.”

Advent International invests in companies active in business and financial services; healthcare; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology, media and telecom. The firm is owned and operated by 45 partners and governed by a group of 14 managing partners. Advent has offices in 16 countries and employs 180 investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Boston, Advent has $42 billion in assets under management and has completed more than 300 buyout and private equity transactions (www.adventinternational.com).

Piper Jaffray (www.piperjaffray.com) served as the financial advisor and The Giannuzzi Group (www.gglaw.us) served as legal advisor to Michael Angelo’s on this transaction. Deutsche Bank (www.db.com) served as financial advisor and Weil, Gotshal & Manges (www.weil.com) served as legal advisor to Advent International.

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | February 3, 2017

H.I.G. Sells Fibercore to Golden Gate

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H.I.G. Capital has sold has sold Fibercore Limited to Humanetics Innovative Solutions, a portfolio company of Golden Gate Capital.

Fibercore designs and manufactures specialty optical fiber products that are used in a range of applications including fiber optic gyroscopes, fiber optic hydrophones, fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers, embedded sensors, and specialty medical equipment. The company’s products are used by companies in more than 50 countries that are active in the aerospace and defense, oil and gas, biomedical, and telecommunications markets. Fibercore was founded in 1982 as a business venture spin-out from the Optical Fiber Group of the University of Southampton. Fibercore is led by CEO Chris Emslie and is headquartered in Chilworth, UK with an additional office in Houston (www.fibercore.com).

“Fibercore has always been an industry leader. It has been a very successful transaction and during our period of ownership, we have enjoyed working with Chris Emslie and his team helping to develop the business in new areas; in many cases pushing the boundaries of optical science via pioneering R&D,” said Carl Harring, a Managing Director at H.I.G. Capital. “Today, Fibercore sits at the heart of the industrial Internet of Things revolution with applications ranging from driverless cars to remote operating robots relying on the company’s leading edge technology. Humanetics is a natural home for the business and we wish the combination every success.”

Humanetics Innovative Solutions is a supplier of precision test systems and sensors. More specifically, the company is a provider of biofidelic anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs), commonly known as crash test dummies, and related sensor measurement systems. The company’s products are used for the development and certification of occupant safety protection technologies across a variety of end markets including automotive, aerospace, industrial and medical devices. Humanetics was acquired by Golden Gate in December 2013 and is headquartered near Detroit in Plymouth, MI (www.humaneticsatd.com).

Golden Gate Capital targets companies across a range of industries and transaction types, including going-privates, corporate divestitures, recapitalizations, and public equity investments. The firm has approximately $15 billion of capital under management and is based in San Francisco (www.goldengatecap.com).

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).

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | February 3, 2017

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