Archives for November 1, 2017

Wild Sports Partners Up to Expand

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Wild Sports, a manufacturer and provider of licensed and branded tailgating, homegating and outdoor games, has been acquired by Expedition Capital Partners, Centerfield Capital Partners and Cardinal Equity Partners.  The acquisition was completed in partnership with the company’s founders, Todd Hines and Gregg Browne.

Wild Sports’ products are sold at big-box retailers and also through on-line retailers. The company’s products include games such as Cornhole, Tailgate Toss and Stackers, in addition to other tailgating accessories such as team branded tables and chairs.  Wild Sports has licenses with the NFL, MLB and NHL and has more than 500 licenses with universities and colleges across the country. The company is headquartered north of Indianapolis in Westfield, IN (www.wildsports.com).

“We are thrilled to join with Expedition, Centerfield and Cardinal as we look to continue our rapid expansion,” said Founder and Co-CEO Todd Hines. “We have many organic growth and expanded licensing opportunities for Wild Sports. We also see acquisition opportunities in the tailgating and outdoor games category where there are a number of highly profitable, synergistic targets that align well with our core competencies.”

“Wild Sports and specifically, Todd Hines and Gregg Browne, have done a tremendous job in building vital licensing and retail partnerships,” said Michael Hendrie, Managing Director of Expedition Capital Partners. “With this leadership team now equipped with the necessary resources, we’re very excited about the future of Wild Sports.”

Expedition Capital Partners invests in lower middle market companies that have at least $2 million of EBITDA.  Sectors of interest include business services; consumer products and services; distribution and logistics; education and training; healthcare; infrastructure; manufacturing; and waste & recycling. The firm is based in Chicago (www.expedition-partners.com).

“Wild Sports has a strong foundation that provides the stability and launching pad for rapid growth,” said Faraz Abbasi, Senior Partner at Centerfield Capital Partners. “Our investment will provide this exceptional management team the necessary capital they need to realize the substantial growth potential in their strategic plans.”

Centerfield Capital Partners provides from $7 million to $35 million of subordinated debt and equity financing to middle-market companies that have $15 million to $100 million of revenue and $3 million to $15 million of EBITDA. The firm is based in Indianapolis (www.centerfieldcapital.com).

“The category continues to grow and remains highly profitable, and Wild Sports is the leader and will remain the leader,” said John Ackerman, a Partner at Cardinal Equity Partners. “We are excited to provide Wild Sports the necessary resources to grow organically and acquire profitable opportunities to add to the portfolio.”

Cardinal Equity Partners invests from $2 million to $7 million of equity in companies that have from $5 million to $50 million of revenues and $1 million to $5 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include niche manufacturing, value-added distribution, consumer products, and service companies. The firm was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Indianapolis (www.cardinalep.com).

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | November 1, 2017

AE Industrial Partners Acquires FMI

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AE Industrial Partners has acquired FMI, a manufacturer of aerospace structural components and subassemblies.

FMI manufactures large and complex components that are used on many of the largest commercial aerospace platforms including the 737, 737 MAX, 777, and 787. FMI’s customers include Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, Asco Industries, Beechcraft, Caterpillar, General Electric, Phillips Petroleum and others. The company was founded in 1992 and employs 250 people with 222,000 square feet of manufacturing facilities in Park City, KS (www.fmi-incorporated.com).

“There is no other private equity firm with the depth and breadth of AEI’s aerospace experience, and we are excited to partner with their team of professionals,” said Rick Nutt, Founder and CEO of FMI. “We are confident that our management team and our business will take a giant step forward, backed by the industry experience, strategic vision and financial resources of AEI.”

“FMI is unique in the aerospace industry with vertically integrated and highly efficient operations, producing complex structural components on the platforms they serve,” said Jon Nemo, a Partner of AEI. “We believe the company has significant potential to grow with its current customers as well as expand to new customers throughout the growing aerospace industry. We look forward to partnering with Rick and his team in FMI’s next chapter of growth.”

AEI invests in the aerospace, power generation and specialty industrial sectors with a specific focus on technical manufacturing, distribution and supply chain management, MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) and industrial service-based businesses.  Typical company targets will have from $50 million to $500 million of revenue. The firm is headquartered in Boca Raton (www.aeroequity.com).

Koch Siedhoff Hand & Dunn, a Wichita-based accounting firm (www.kshd.com), was the financial advisor to FMI on this transaction.

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | November 1, 2017

Shore Begins New Vet Consolidation

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Shore Capital Partners has acquired Advanced Animal Hospital Group and Progressive Pet Animal Hospitals and has merged the two businesses to form Midwest Veterinary Partners.

To complete these transactions, Shore has partnered with Dr. Vic Dhillon, owner of Advanced Animal Hospital Group, and Dr. Jeff Rothstein, owner of Progressive Pet Animal Hospitals, to pursue a consolidation of animal hospitals throughout the Midwest.

“As customized veterinary solutions have become more complex and demanding, we believe that collaborating with financial and strategic partners is beneficial for our customers and, of course, their beloved pets,” said Dr. Dhillon. “With Shore Capital Partners’ investment and by joining forces with Progressive Pet Animal Hospitals, we will have the additional resources and capabilities to create a leading veterinary services company in the Midwest.”

With the formation of Midwest Veterinary Partners (MVP) complete, the group now has 22 general practice veterinary clinics in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois, and provides services to companion animals including vaccinations, surgery, wellness exams, oncology, ophthalmology, allergy treatment and dermatology. Shore plans to invest in infrastructure to standardize operations and provide support to MVP’s current and future clinics including centralized finance, accounting, human resources, IT, sales and marketing.

According to Shore, pet ownership among US households is at an all-time high of 68% and with an increase in the average lifespan of pets, ownership costs have continued to rise and demand for veterinary services has increased. Veterinary service expenditures in the US are expected to continue growing at more than 4% annually and will surpass $46 billion by 2021.

“Advanced Animal Hospital Group and Progressive Pet Animal Hospitals are terrific businesses that each have a reputation for providing high-quality care and treatment for pets of all kinds, and that provide highly complementary services,” said Mike Cooper, a Partner at Shore. “Importantly, as pet ownership levels continue to increase, we believe this investment and merger represents a strategic opportunity to take advantage of a fragmented, yet growing market and to consolidate veterinary clinics throughout the Midwest. We are very pleased to partner with Vic, Jeff and their respective teams, and are eager to begin aggressively scaling this new company.”

The formation of MVP is the fourth platform investment for Shore Capital Partners Fund II LP, a $190 million fund that closed in April 2017.

Shore Capital Partners invests in lower middle market healthcare related companies that have $5 million to $50 million of revenue and $1 million to $5 million of EBITDA. Shore targets equity commitments of $10 million to $15 million per platform.  Healthcare sectors of particular interest include behavioral health; healthcare staffing; infusion therapy; laboratory products & distribution; laboratory services; outpatient rehab therapy; urgent care; veterinary services; pharmaceutical services and contract research.  Shore was founded in 2009 and is based in Chicago (www.shorecp.com).

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | November 1, 2017

Prelude Growth Launched

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Prelude Growth Partners, a new private equity firm that will provide growth capital and operating support to consumer brands, has been launched by Neda Daneshzadeh and Alicia Sontag.

Prelude’s strategy is to make investments of $3 million to $10 million in companies operating in branded consumer categories including personal care and beauty; food and beverage; baby; pet; health and wellness; household; and other consumer categories.

“There has never been a more compelling time to invest in high potential, fast-growing consumer brands,” said Ms. Sontag.  “Today, we are seeing new consumer brands scale more rapidly than ever before as a result of a modern generation of consumer demand and changing market dynamics.  Across categories, we expect the top 10 brands of tomorrow to be markedly different than the top 10 brands of today.”

Ms. Sontag is the former Global President of Beauty at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies where from 2013 to 2017 she led a portfolio of over 10 brands including Neutrogena, Aveeno and OGX. In 2015 she was recognized by Women’s Wear Daily as one of the “Fifty Most Powerful Women in Beauty.”  From 2002 to 2013 she was a Senior Vice President with Estée Lauder.

“We are excited to launch Prelude and are confident that our complimentary experiences, strong industry relationships and deep operating know-how both at the firm and through our world-class operating advisors will enable us to capitalize on the secular changes in the consumer sector,” said Ms. Daneshzadeh.  “Central to Prelude’s investment thesis is our belief that a highly active and value-added investing approach will lead to a structural advantage in sourcing new investments and driving growth at our portfolio companies.” Ms. Daneshzadeh spent the last 12 years at L Catterton where she was a partner and a member of the firm’s investment committee. Earlier in her career, she was with Bed Bath & Beyond, McKinsey & Company and Morgan Stanley.

To assist with transaction origination and portfolio company value creation, Prelude has assembled a group of operating advisors including Maureen Chiquet, former Global CEO of Chanel, and Laura Lang, former CEO of Time and Digitas.

Prelude Growth Partners is headquartered in New York (www.preludegrowth.com).

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | November 1, 2017