Archives for April 5, 2017

OMERS Private Equity Acquires Inmar

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OMERS Private Equity (OPE) has agreed to acquire Inmar from ABRY Partners. ABRY acquired Inmar from New Mountain Capital in January 2014 and will continue to be a significant shareholder in the company.

Inmar is an operator of commerce networks that are used by retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers to manage reverse logistics (product returns), facilitate promotions and recover revenue through secondary marketing of returned products. Inmar serves over 1,000 business clients, annually processing billions of returned goods, promotional transactions and pharmaceutical claims. The company, led by CEO David Mounts, was founded in 1980 and is based in Winston-Salem, NC (www.inmar.com).

“We look forward to partnering with David and the entire management team to support the company’s next phase of growth.  Inmar is an excellent addition to our growing business services portfolio,” said Eric Haley, Managing Director at OPE.

OMERS Private Equity manages the private equity activities of OMERS, one of Canada’s largest pension funds. The group’s investment strategy includes the active ownership of businesses in North America and Europe. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, financial and business services, industrial and consumer products, transportation, and technology. Investment sizes range from $200 million to $700 million. The firm is located in Toronto with offices in New York and London and has $6 billion of investments under management (www.omerspe.com).

“The investment in Inmar is consistent with OPE’s strategy of acquiring industry leading companies with world class management.  The company has steadily grown beyond commerce and into analytics and engagement solutions, which is an area where we see great opportunity. Unlike traditional PE firms, OPE can hold investments for longer durations, and Inmar, like recent investments in DTI/Epiq and Forefront Dermatology, matches up well with our strategy of choosing assets that have excellent long-term fundamentals,” said Michael Graham, OPE Senior Managing Director and Head of North America.

ABRY invests in the media, communications, and business and information sectors. The firm is currently managing $4.3 billion of total capital and investing out of a $1.9 billion private equity fund, a $950 million senior equity fund and a $1.5 billion senior debt fund. ABRY was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Boston (www.abry.com).

Wells Fargo Securities is the financial advisor to Inmar. Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo Securities are serving as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners for the credit facilities in support of the transaction which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017.

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | April 5, 2017

Gryphon Buys Wind River Environmental

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Gryphon Investors has acquired a majority equity interest in Wind River Environmental, a provider of inspection, installation, repair, and maintenance services to non-hazardous liquid environmental waste. This transaction is Gryphon’s third investment in the environmental services sector.

Wind River Environmental inspects, services, repairs and installs non-hazardous liquid waste systems, including septic tanks, grease traps, pumping and industrial waste systems. The company offers its services to residential, commercial and municipal systems located in the eastern US. In 2016 the company serviced approximately 25,000 commercial and 52,000 residential sites. Customers include national food and retail establishments such as Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Whole Foods. Wind River has more than 25 locations and 500 employees and is headquartered west of Boston in Marlborough, MA (www.wrenvironmental.com).

Wind River was founded in 1999 and is led by its Co-founder and CEO John O’Connell. Mr. O’Connell and other members of Wind River management team have retained a significant ownership position in the company and will continue to lead Wind River after the closing of the transaction. “We are excited to partner with Gryphon as we continue to grow the company through acquisitions and national and local account sales efforts. We believe that Gryphon brings significant resources and expertise to support these efforts,” said Mr. O’Connell.

“Wind River has an impressive history of growth including completing more than 60 acquisitions. We are highly enthusiastic about providing capital and expertise to Wind River’s management team as they continue to build this market-leading platform through the execution of organic initiatives and add-on acquisitions,” said Phil Petrocelli, a Gryphon Partner and member of its Operating Resources Group.

Former Republic Services COO and Gryphon executive advisor Kevin Walbridge will become Chairman of Wind River as part of Gryphon’s investment. Republic Services is the second largest provider of non-hazardous solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling, and energy services in the US.

Gryphon Investors makes leveraged acquisitions and growth investments in middle-market companies. The firm invests from $50 million to $150 million of capital in companies with sales ranging from $50 million to $500 million. Sectors of interest include business services, consumer and retail, automotive, chemical, general manufacturing, health care and hotels. Gryphon Investors is based in San Francisco (www.gryphoninvestors.com).

“This investment is a result of Gryphon’s longstanding proactive focus on the environmental services space and is a strong match with the past experience of Gryphon’s deal and operations professionals. We have enormous respect for John O’Connell and other members of management and are excited to partner with them to support the company’s continued growth both organically and through acquisitions,” said Alex Earls, a Partner at Gryphon and Head of its Business Services Group.

Gryphon’s past and current investments in the environmental services sector include Dallas-based Trinity Consultants, an environmental consulting firm which specializes in providing air quality compliance, toxicology, industrial hygiene and other environmental services (www.trinityconsultants.com) which Gryphon owned from 2011 to 2015; and HEPACO, a Charlotte-based provider of emergency response, environmental remediation and other environmental services (www.hepaco.com). HEPACO is a current portfolio company of Gryphon.

Stifel Nicolaus was the financial advisor to Gryphon and William Blair & Company was the financial advisor to Wind River.

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | April 5, 2017

Stone Canyon Expands in Packaging

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Stone Canyon Industries has closed on the buy of Mauser Group, a supplier of rigid packaging products for industrial use, from Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in a $2.3 billion all-cash transaction. CD&R acquired Mauser in August 2014 for $1.65 billion.

Mauser manufactures and supplies plastic and steel drums and intermediate bulk containers (“IBCs”) for the chemical, industrial and food and beverage industries.  The company is also a provider of reconditioning services for used plastic drums and IBCs of all products.  Mauser’s 5,000 employees operate 111 production facilities across 18 countries in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia.  Mauser had revenues in 2016 of €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) and is headquartered southwest of Cologne in Bruhl, Germany (www.mausergroup.com).

The buy of Mauser is Stone Canyon’s second investment in the rigid packaging industry. In June 2016, Stone Canyon acquired BWAY Corp. from Platinum Equity for $2.4 billion. Like Mauser, BWAY is a manufacturer of rigid metal and plastic containers. Platinum acquired BWAY in December 2012 from Madison Dearborn Partners for $1.2 billion.

BWAY’s products are used primarily for packaging of industrial, bulk food and retail goods. Products include aerosol cans, ammunition boxes, cone and pour top cans, metal paint cans, oil cans, and plastic drums. The company is led by CEO Ken Roessler. BWAY operates 25 plants throughout the United States and Canada and is based in Chicago (Oak Brook) and Atlanta (www.bwaycorp.com). Stone Canyon’s ownership of both BWAY and Mauser creates a global leader in containers and packaging for the chemical, industrial and food and beverage industries.

Stone Canyon invests in companies valued between $50 million and $1 billion. Sectors of interest include consumer and retail; food and ingredients; industrial; technology and business services; and transportation. The firm was founded in 2014 and is led by Co-CEOs James Fordyce and Adam Cohn and is headquartered in Los Angeles (www.stonecanyonllc.com).

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, BMO Capital Markets, and Citigroup Global Markets provided committed financing for the transaction. Goldman Sachs was the financial advisor to Stone Canyon.

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | April 5, 2017

Greenbriar Acquires Whitcraft

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Greenbriar Equity Group has acquired The Whitcraft Group, a maker of aerospace components, from Linsalata Capital Partners which first invested in the company in December 2010.

The Whitcraft Group is a manufacturer of precision formed, machined, and fabricated flight-critical aerospace components. The company’s products include air seals, bracket assemblies, heatshields, retaining rings, inlet covers, rolled ring air seals, snap rings, flanges, tail cones, transition ducts, manifold assemblies and other products. Whitcraft’s blue-chip customer base includes every major aero-engine OEM and Tier I supplier, with content on over 100 turbine engines and platforms. The company is a manufacturing partner with Pratt & Whitney, GE Aviation, Honeywell, UTC Aerospace Systems, Sikorsky, Rolls-Royce, and the US Government. Whitcraft was founded in 1960 and is based in Eastford, CT (www.whitcraftgroup.com).

“We are proud to partner with Whitcraft to help continue their long-term track record of growth. Whitcraft’s differentiated capabilities and superb management team provide a unique platform for continued growth in the aerospace engine market,” said Noah Roy, a Managing Partner at Greenbriar.

Greenbriar Equity Group invests from $50 million to $150 million per transaction in the global transportation industry, including companies in aerospace & defense, automotive, freight & passenger transport, logistics & distribution, and related sectors. The firm manages $2.5 billion of committed capital and is based in Rye, NY (www.greenbriarequity.com).

“Greenbriar is an experienced investor in aerospace whose partnership and support will enhance Whitcraft’s ability to execute on the opportunity created by the unprecedented growth currently taking place in our industry,” said Colin Cooper, Whitcraft’s CEO.

Linsalata Capital Partners, the seller of Whitcraft,  invests from $10 million to $50 million of equity in middle market companies that have $7 million to $50 million of EBITDA and at least $300 million in enterprise value.  The firm was founded in 1984 and is based near Cleveland in Mayfield Heights, OH (www.linsalatacapital.com).

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | April 5, 2017