Premier Needle Arts, a portfolio company of Blue Point Capital Partners, has acquired Crafts Americana Group.
Crafts Americana Group (CAG) is a supplier of knitting, crochet, quilting, sewing and other hobbyist products. The company operates through three divisions: (1) The Artist’s Club sells decorative painter supplies including tole painting books, project surfaces, paints brushes and tools; (2) Connecting Threads sells products used by quilters including quilting books, fabrics, notions and supplies; and (3) Knit Picks sells yarn, books, patterns, and needles and supplies for knitters. Crafts Americana was founded in 1975 by Donna Santos and sold to Bob and Kelley Petkun in 1990. Today, the company is led by CEO Matt Petkun and is headquartered in Vancouver, WA (www.craftsamericana.com) (www.ArtistsClub.com) (www.ConnectingThreads.com) (www.KnitPicks.com).
Premier Needle Arts (PNA) is a provider of sewing, quilting, knitting and fiber art supplies and products to a global network of independent quilting stores, sewing retailers, quilting distributors and dealers and consumers. Three companies operate under the Premier Needle Arts holding company: (1) Handi Quilter (North Salt Lake, UT) creates and builds both branded and private-label longarm quilting machines, and produces quilting tables and frames, as well as longarm quilting accessories, scissors, rulers, templates and patterns; (2) Superior Threads (St. George, UT) is a supplier of 43 lines of premium threads used in quilting and sewing; and (3) Quilt Pro Systems (Dallas, TX) provides digital products that enable quilters to digitally and electronically design and audition their projects. Premier Needle Arts, led by CEO Mark Hyland, is headquartered in North Salt Lake, UT (www.premierneedlearts.com).
PNA was formed by Blue Point when it acquired Handi Quilter from High Road Capital Partners in December 2014. The buy of CAG is the third add-on acquisition for PNA under Blue Point ownership. “From the onset, Blue Point’s focus was to turn PNA into a multifaceted business, and pursue acquisition opportunities in related quilting and other niche hobby fiber arts categories. CAG’s product offering supplements and is a natural fit with PNA,” said Sean Ward, a Partner with Blue Point.
According to Blue Point, the acquisition of CAG provides growth and synergy opportunities which can be achieved by leveraging Blue Point’s domestic operational capabilities, as well as digital marketing and e-commerce resources. Blue Point also brings strategic Shanghai resources to assist with sourcing and supply chain initiatives.
Blue Point Capital Partners is a lower middle market private equity firm that invests in manufacturing, distribution and service businesses that have from $20 million to $300 million in revenue. The firm has over $825 million in committed capital and has offices in Cleveland, Charlotte, Seattle, and Shanghai (www.bluepointcapital.com).
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | February 28, 2017
