Archives for January 2018

Blue Point Closes Fund IV

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Blue Point Capital Partners has held a final close of its fourth buyout fund, Blue Point Capital Partners IV LP (BPCP IV), at its hard cap of $700 million.

With this closing, Blue Point has now raised nearly $2 billion in capital across four institutional funds and will continue its focus on partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams to grow middle market companies.  The new fund will continue the strategy of the firm’s predecessor fund, Blue Point Capital Partners III LP, which closed in November 2014 at its hard cap of $425 million.

Blue Point invests in manufacturing, business services, consumer and value-added distribution companies that have from $20 million to $200 million in revenue and EBITDA greater than $5 million. The Blue Point partner group – Chip Chaikin, John LeMay, Juli Marley, Mark Morris and Sean Ward – have been investing together for more than 19 years. The firm has offices in Cleveland, Charlotte, Seattle, and Shanghai (www.bluepointcapital.com).

“We are extremely pleased to have quickly exceeded our initial target and hit our hard cap for BPCP IV,” said Mr. Chaikin. “We are gratified that a considerable majority of the capital raised came from long-term investors in Blue Point’s funds, many dating back to BPCP I.  We are also excited to welcome several new leading limited partners including consultants, endowments, pension funds and insurance companies.  We appreciate the confidence they have shown in our team and strategy.”

Blue Point’s investment process focuses particularly on companies where it can apply its value creation strategies including: (i) Asian strategies to provide additional cost reduction and/or revenue-generating opportunities by helping companies execute Asian growth or supply chain initiatives; (ii) Data & Digital strategies to improve the way portfolio companies collect, analyze and act on data. In most cases, this refers to the way companies price their product or service as well as how they manage their inventories and interact with their customers; and (iii) Mergers & Acquisitions strategies that create value through add-on acquisitions. Nearly 70% of the portfolio companies in Blue Point’s two earlier funds have executed add-on acquisitions. In fact, portfolio companies in Fund III have closed on 16 add-on acquisitions alone.

In addition, while Blue Point is an active investor nationwide, the firm is particularly active in its home markets of the Midwest, Northwest and Southeast.

Sixpoint Partners was the exclusive global placement agent for this fundraise. Sixpoint is headquartered in New York with offices in Chicago, San Francisco and Hong Kong (www.sixpointpartners.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | January 26, 2018

Frontier Invests in PowerDMS

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Frontier Capital has completed a significant equity investment in PowerDMS, a provider of document management services.

PowerDMS offers a software-as-a-service, cloud-based compliance and document management system that is used by companies and organization to organize and manage critical documents and industry accreditation standards in order to reduce legal risk and liability. The company’s products also support employee training and testing. Most of the company’s nearly 3,000 customers are active in high-risk, high-litigation industries, including public safety, government and healthcare. PowerDMS was founded in 2001 by its CEO Josh Brown and is headquartered in Orlando (www.PowerDMS.com).

“The team at PowerDMS has worked hard to build a product we are extremely proud of and to create a company culture where customer satisfaction remains our top priority,” said Mr. Brown. “We are excited to partner with Frontier and are confident its expertise in growing software-as-a-service companies will take PowerDMS to the next level and create added value for our customers.”

Frontier typically makes minority and majority equity investments of $15 million to $75 million in software and technology-enabled business services companies that have revenues from $10 million to $30 million. The firm is based in Charlotte, NC (www.frontiercapital.com).

In December 2017, Frontier held a final close of its fifth fund at an oversubscribed $700 million. The firm began fundraising in May 2017 with an initial target of $500 million. The firm’s earlier fund closed in 2015 with $390 million of capital.

“PowerDMS’ exceptional growth and pioneering software solutions highlights the increased demand for companies to limit risk, ensure compliance and improve performance,” said Michael Ramich, a Partner at Frontier Capital. “We look forward to partnering with Josh and the team to continue PowerDMS’ presence as a leader in the policy management software space.”

Ballast Point Ventures, which originally invested in PowerDMS in May 2014, will remain a shareholder in the company and continue to serve on the company’s board of directors. Ballast Point is headquartered in St. Petersburg, FL (www.ballastpointventures.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | January 26, 2018

ICP Adds-On Again

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Innovative Chemical Products (ICP Group), a portfolio company of Audax, has acquired Arizona Polymer Flooring, a manufacturer of flooring products and concrete coating systems. The operations of Arizona Polymer will be placed under ICP Construction, a division of ICP Group.

ICP Group was formed in January 2016 when Audax combined two of its specialty chemical portfolio companies, California Products (acquired from Delos Capital in October 2015) and Nicoat (acquired in March 2015 from Caltius Equity Partners). Including the original buys of California Products and Nicoat, the buy of Arizona Polymer is the fifth add-on acquisition completed by ICP Group.

Last year, Arizona Polymer Flooring opened a new 50,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility in Phoenix that houses corporate offices, a manufacturing facility, and a warehouse and training facility. The company has an additional manufacturing facility near Austin in Buda, TX (www.apfepoxy.com).

ICP Group is active in the formulation, manufacturing, and marketing of coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers. The company serves the architectural, specialty construction, packaging, printing and sport surfaces end markets. ICP Group has warehousing and manufacturing facilities near Chicago in Itasca, IL and is headquartered near Boston in Andover, MA (www.icpgroup.com).

ICP Group’s brand names include California Paints, FixALL, Storm System, Fiberlock, Dry-Treat, California Sports Surfaces, Rock-Tred, Scuffmaster, Zolatone and ClearErase. The acquisition of Arizona Polymer adds more than a dozen flooring brands to both ICP Group and extends ICP Construction’s manufacturing and distribution capabilities to Arizona and the West Coast.

“This was an important acquisition for ICP Group. Arizona Polymer is a respected brand throughout many industries – military and aerospace, food and beverage, hospitality and entertainment, government, and more,” said Doug Mattscheck, CEO of ICP Group.

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).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | January 26, 2018

Verus Exits Pittsburgh Brewing Company

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After almost a seven-year hold, Verus Investment Partners has sold Pittsburgh Brewing Company. The buyer of the company was not disclosed.

Pittsburgh Brewing Company (PBC) produces several well-known brands of beer including Iron City, IC Light, American, Old German, and Block House. The company’s products are primarily distributed in Pennsylvania and nearby states. PBC is headquartered in Pittsburgh (www.pittsburghbrewing.com).

During the Verus’ ownership term, PBC made improvements in new products, marketing, and operations and the company was able to expand its sales outside of Western Pennsylvania. These efforts led to positive revenue growth and the company was able to re-establish its brands as the beers of choice for the greater Pittsburgh area. PBC had marketing partnerships with both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“We worked closely with the company to attain the goals we established at the time of our initial investment,” said Chris Fuller, Managing Partner of Verus. “Together, we successfully diversified our product offering, invested in strategic sponsorships with Pittsburgh’s professional sports teams, and expanded into new sales channels.”

PBC has a storied and checkered history. The company was founded in 1861 by Edward Frauenheim and during the brewery’s 150-year history, it has introduced many innovations such as the first twist-off cap, the first snap-top can and the nation’s first light beer. Many years later, after surviving Prohibition (the company produced soft drinks, ice cream and ‘near beer’ and ran a cold storage business to endure those years), PBC was acquired in 1986 by Bond Brewing Holdings, a company controlled by controversial Australian businessman Alan Bond, and was later sold in 1993 to Pittsburgh entrepreneur Michael Carlow. In 1995 the company was acquired out of bankruptcy by Keystone Brewing Company but struggled with labor issues and a sharp decline in sales and again filed for bankruptcy in 2005. In 2007, the brewery was purchased and brought out of bankruptcy by Unified Growth Partners. Verus acquired the assets of the company in April 2011 in a control buyout transaction funded entirely with equity.

“We had a strong partnership with the management team of Pittsburgh Brewing Company and we are proud of the success and growth the company has achieved,” said Richard Moreau, a Partner at Verus. “The business is well positioned to capitalize on consumer trends in the beer industry and we look forward to the next phase of the company’s expansion.”

Verus Investment Partners (formerly known as Uni-World Capital) invests in leveraged buyouts and also makes growth equity investments in companies with enterprise values from $20 million to $100 million and that have EBITDA of more than $5 million. Sectors of interest include consumer products, food and beverage, manufacturing and industrial, business services, and building products. The firm is based in New York (www.veruspartners.com.)

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | January 25, 2018

Promus Invests in Event Network

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Promus Equity Partners has made a minority equity investment in Event Network alongside the company’s management team.

Event Network is an operator of specialty retail locations at zoos, aquariums, science centers, children’s and cultural museums, gardens, iconic landmarks and historic sites. The company manages the entire retail experience of the store in concert with each venue’s unique theme and its services include custom product development, store design, merchandising and retail services. Event Network is headquartered in San Diego (www.eventnetwork.com).

Event Network was founded in 1998 and began with a store for the Titanic Artifact Exhibition in Boston. Larry Gilbert and Helen Sherman, co-founders of the company, led the effort to create a retail offering for Titanic (at the time, a fairly novel concept for museum exhibition retail).

“Event Network has clearly arrived at the right place, at the right time and with the right partners, and we look forward to an exciting future with our expanded Promus-Event Network family,” said Mr. Gilbert, co-founder and CEO of Event Network. “We appreciate that Promus is willing to invest over an extended period since we see so many opportunities for long-term growth.”

Promus Equity Partners is a private equity investment firm affiliated with Promus Holdings, a multi-family asset management firm.  Promus targets lower middle market companies with EBITDA’s of $15 million or less. Sectors of interest include consumer products, food & beverage, industrial products, manufacturing services, specialty materials, distribution, and business services.  The firm is based in Chicago (www.promusequity.com).

Piper Jaffray & Co. (www.piperjaffray.com) was the financial advisor to Event Network.

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | January 25, 2018

Bunker Hill Exits Rizing

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Bunker Hill Capital has sold Rizing, a provider of SAP functional and technical consulting services, to One Equity Partners.

Rizing was formed by Bunker Hill in December 2014 to serve as the parent company of Vesta Partners, a provider of SAP Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) services; and /N SPRO, a provider of SAP Human Capital Management (HCM) services. Rizing is headquartered in Stamford, CT (www.rizing.com).

Editor’s note: SAP is a multinational software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. The company’s Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) software supports organizations by managing the lifecycle of physical assets resulting in reduced operating costs, better-managed capital expenditures, and asset utilization; and its Human Capital Management (HCM) software supports the process of recruiting, developing and optimizing an organization’s human resources.

“Together with an excellent management team, we built an SAP-centric consulting business through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth into one of the leading SAP consulting firms with 14 offices around the world,” said Mark DeBlois, a Managing Partner of Bunker Hill Capital.

Vesta was acquired by Bunker Hill in December 2012. The company operates a functional and technical consulting practice focused on EAM solution architecture and configuration for customers in asset intensive industries. The functional consulting practice is focused on architecting and integrating SAP EAM modules, which help customers track, manage and report on capital asset usage. Vesta has a specialization in the utilities, mining, rail, and oil & gas sectors. The company was founded in 2005 (www.vestapartners.com).

/N SPRO was acquired by Bunker Hill in August 2009. The company provides consulting services for SAP software such as SuccessFactors, SAP for Retail, SAP mobile solutions and SAP HCM (www.n-spro.com).

“We are very appreciative of Bunker Hill Capital and all they did to help us grow Rizing into the leading global SAP company that it is today,” said Mike Maiolo, CEO of Rizing. “The partners at Bunker Hill created a solid strategic framework while providing the right level of autonomy for us to successfully drive positive results.”

Bunker Hill makes control investments in companies with EBITDAs between $5 million and $20 million, and enterprise values up to $120 million.  Sectors of interest include industrial products, business services, consumer products, and specialty retail.  The firm has offices in Boston and San Diego (www.bunkerhillcapital.com).

“The Bunker Hill team was a true value-added partner and built a collaborative relationship with our team right from the beginning,” said Carl Graves, CFO of Rizing. “They took the time to understand our business and industry in order to provide a deep and comprehensive partnership with the Rizing management team.”

One Equity Partners, the buyer of Rizing, is a middle-market private equity firm that invests in industrial, healthcare, and technology companies that are based in North America and Europe. Since 2001, the firm has invested in more than 140 transactions worldwide. One Equity, founded in 2001, spun out of JP Morgan in 2015. The firm has offices in New York and Chicago, and an advisory office in Frankfurt, Germany (www.oneequity.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | January 25, 2018