Hidden Harbor Capital Partners has acquired Stella Environmental, a municipal solid waste company, from Action Resources.
Stella Environmental is a provider of municipal solid waste transfer station management and transportation services in the Texas and southwestern US market. Transfer station management is the loading and transportation of tractor-trailer loads of waste from in-town processing facilities to remote landfills. Stella processes more than 230,000 tons of waste material each month, dispatching over 10,000 loads throughout its operating network.
Stella previously operated as Sprint Logistics but its name was changed to Stella Environmental when Aperion and Ocean Avenue Capital Partners acquired the business in February 2012. The two groups then sold the company to Action Resources in June 2015. Today, the company is led by its CEO Wilfred Roth and is based in Houston (www.stellaenv.com).
“Stella has positioned itself as the preferred service provider in its core markets, with a reputation for delivering exceptional service, quality, and results to its customers,” said Chris Paldino, a Founding Partner at Hidden Harbor. “We are excited about Stella’s prospects for continued growth and geographical expansion.”
Hidden Harbor makes investments in US-based companies with revenues between $50 million and $500 million and EBITDA up to $25 million. Sectors of interest include industrials, transportation and logistics, business services, consumer products, and retail. The firm is based in Boca Raton (www.hh-cp.com).
Hidden Harbor was founded in April 2016 by John Caple, David Block and Chris Paldino. Mr. Caple is a former partner of Comvest Partners, a provider debt and equity to middle-market companies based in West Palm Beach. He was with Comvest from May 2010 to April 2016 and was a member of the Executive Committee. Prior to founding Hidden Harbor with Mr. Caple, Mr. Block was the President and CEO of Swiss Watch International, an e-commerce watch company backed by Clearlake Capital. Earlier, Mr. Block held the title of Operating Partner at H.I.G. Capital from September 2008 to March 2013. Mr. Paldino was previously a Managing Director at H.I.G. Capital from April 2007 to December 2016 where he was responsible for all aspects of the investment process, including sourcing, business evaluation, transaction structuring, financing, and portfolio management.
Action Resources, the seller of Stella Environmental, is a provider of specialty chemical and hazardous waste transportation services. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered north of Birmingham in Hanceville, AL (www.actn.com).
Monroe Capital was the sole lead arranger and administrative agent on the funding of a $43 million senior credit facility to support the acquisition of Stella Environmental. Monroe’s middle market lending platform provides senior and junior debt financing to middle market businesses and private equity sponsors. The firm is headquartered in Chicago and has additional offices in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Toronto (www.monroecap.com).
Raymond James (www.raymondjames.com) was the financial advisor to Stella Environmental.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | August 23, 2017
