Imperial Bag & Paper, a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity, and one of the largest distributors of disposable food service and janitorial supplies in North America, has acquired Dade Paper & Bag Co.
Dade Paper & Bag Co. is a distributor of foodservice disposables and janitorial supplies serving customers across more than 20 states with an emphasis on supermarkets, foodservice providers, cruise lines, and schools. Dade primarily serves the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic markets reaching from Florida to Maryland with additional locations in the Tri-State and Northeast regions. The company was founded in 1939 by Irving Genet and his father Harry Genet in Miami, FL.
Today, the company has over 1,100 employees working in 10 distribution facilities and 17 sales offices with its headquarters in Miami (www.dadepaper.com).
Imperial (www.ImperialBag.com) is a Jersey City, NJ-based distributor of disposable food service and janitorial supplies to supermarkets, schools, “grab-n-go” convenience stores, and retailers. Imperial was formed in 1935 and was purchased by CEO Robert Tillis and President Jason Tillis in 2007. In January 2016, Audax made a growth equity investment in the company.
Imperial has been very active in making add-on acquisitions having completed ten of them since 2007: Borda Products (May 2009), Center Moriches Paper (July 2010), Burke Supply (September 2011), Wasserman Bag (January 2013), Goldman Paper Company (June 2014), Silfen-Berman Paper Company (January 2015), Borax Paper Products (February 2016), Accommodation Mollen (September 2016), Peninsular Paper (May 2017) and now, Dade Paper.
The acquisition of Dade Paper takes the annual revenue of Imperial to over $1 billion. “We are thrilled to have partnered with Bob and Jason on this transformational phase of growth and the Dade transaction represents a meaningful step in our partnership as we continue to build the business organically and through acquisitions,” said Don Bramley, Managing Director at Audax.
The Audax Group makes control investments of $10 million to $100 million in middle market companies with transaction values of $25 million to $500 million. Sectors of interest include industrial manufacturing; energy; outsourced industrial services; consumer products; healthcare devices and services; non-asset based logistics; technology; aerospace & defense; business services; and direct marketing. The firm was founded in 1999 and has offices in Boston, New York and Menlo Park (www.audaxgroup.com).
“The buy of Dade represents a major step forward in our core markets and geographies,” said Mr. Tillis. “It reinforces our position as a leading distribution and service provider in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions, while positioning us to continue to expand throughout the remainder of the United States.”
Harris Williams & Co. was the financial advisor to Dade Paper
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | June 15, 2017
