Prince International Corporation and Prince Erachem International Corporation (together Prince) have been acquired by American Securities from Palladium Equity Partners.
Prince is a manufacturer of mineral-based specialty additives and has been a portfolio company of Palladium since 2003. The company serves a range of consumer and industrial end markets and many of the company’s products are custom developed for specific customer applications in construction, electronics, consumer products, agriculture, battery, automotive, oil & gas, and heavy equipment.
Prince was founded in 1858 by Robert Prince as a supplier of colorants and additives to the North American brick industry. Today the company operates 25 processing facilities located across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. Prince, led by Chairman and President Willson Ropp and Executive Vice President Anthony Weiss, is headquartered in Houston (www.princecorp.com).
During Palladium’s term of ownership, the company transformed from a small, regional processor of minerals to become one of the largest global manufacturers of specialty mineral additives and inorganic chemicals. The company is a proven consolidator, having closed 19 add-on acquisitions since 2003, and has built a multinational manufacturing presence with locations across six continents.
“We are very proud of the results that have been achieved at Prince,” said Adam Shebitz, Managing Director of Palladium. “Willson Ropp and Anthony Weiss have been outstanding partners throughout our ownership period, and have grown the business into a truly world-class enterprise that we believe is well positioned for its next chapter of growth.”
Palladium invests from $50 million to $150 million of equity in companies that have $10 million to $75 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include consumer and food, business and financial services, industrials, and healthcare. Palladium has a focus on companies that operate in the US Hispanic market. Since its founding in 1997, Palladium has invested over $1.9 billion of capital in more than 30 platform investments and completed over 100 add-on acquisitions. The firm is based in New York (www.palladiumequity.com).
“Prince has grown into a preeminent specialty inorganic chemical manufacturing business across targeted industries based on customer support, technical expertise, and continual improvement of our facilities and capabilities,” said Mr. Ropp. “Our ability to develop and manufacture niche industrial additives and chemicals is valued by our more than 2,000 customers worldwide. Palladium has served as an outstanding partner over the past 14 years, working with us step-by-step and facilitating the creation of our scaled, global platform. We look forward to working with American Securities, leveraging their significant industry expertise and investment experience to accelerate our business plan and growth.”
American Securities invests in businesses with $200 million to $2 billion of revenue and $50 million to $250 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include industrial manufacturing, specialty chemicals, aerospace and defense, energy, business services, healthcare, media, restaurants, and consumer products. The firm has more than $23 billion of capital under management and has offices in New York and Shanghai (www.american-securities.com).
“We are pleased to partner with Willson and the rest of the Prince leadership team to continue to capture attractive growth opportunities,” said Scott Wolff, a Managing Director of American Securities. “The company’s highly-engineered products, valuable customer relationships, experienced leadership team, and engaged employee base make Prince a strong fit for our investment strategy.”
Goldman Sachs & Co. was the financial advisor to Prince on this transaction.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | March 30, 2018
L2 Capital has invested in Insight 2 Design, Inc. and its sister company Elevate, LLC (together Worldwide Camping Holdings).
“We’re very pleased to have the opportunity to help Kevin and Nick further expand their domestic and online product efforts. We’re very impressed with these entrepreneurs, their business model and rapid growth to date,” said Bob Levine, Managing Partner of L2 Capital. “We’re thrilled that they’ve chosen L2 to be their partner going forward.”
L2 Capital Partners is a lower middle market private equity family office that makes control and minority investments in companies that have revenues from $10 million to $75 million and EBITDA from $2 million to $8 million. Sectors of interest include technology-enabled services; business services; e-commerce/direct marketing; consumer products; manufacturing; and environmental products. L2 Capital is headquartered in the Philadelphia suburb of Devon, PA (
London-based Apposite Capital has acquired OrthoD Group from The Riverside Company.
Riverside invested in OrthoD, formerly known as Summit Medical, back in 2008. “Riverside helped OrthoD become a more robust and capable company,” said Riverside Partner Martin Scott. “We’re proud of its more expansive offerings and wider geographic reach, and we’re certain it will continue to help improve outcomes for patients across the world.” Working on the transaction with Mr. Scott were Principal Tommy Seddon, Associate Julius Hugelshofer and Senior Operating Partner Fabio Pesiri.
Apposite Capital sees significant potential in supporting management in further building OrthoD’s export channels and in further commercializing OrthoD’s sport medicine products. “Medical devices companies are a key focus to Apposite and a sector where we have had excellent outcomes,” said Rory Pope, a Partner at Apposite Capital. “We are delighted to support this management buy-out. OrthoD is a solid business which has built a strong reputation with its customers and we look forward supporting Daniel Bee and the rest of the team to accelerate their growth ambitions for the business.”
Apposite Capital makes both control and non-control investments of £5 million to £20 million per transaction in Europe-based healthcare companies. Within the healthcare sector the firm has specific interest in services; digital health; complex care, elderly and specialist care; and medical products & pharmaceuticals. Apposite was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in London, UK (
The Riverside Company, the seller of OrthoD, is a global private equity firm focused on investing in and acquiring growing businesses valued at up to $400 million. Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 520 transactions and its portfolio includes more than 80 companies. The firm is headquartered in New York with 16 additional US and international offices (
Platinum Equity has completed its December 2017 announced acquisition of Husky Injection Molding Systems from Berkshire Partners and OMERS Private Equity for $3.85 billion. Berkshire and OMERS acquired Husky from Onex Corporation in June 2011.
“Husky is an extraordinary company with a well-deserved reputation for developing the industry’s most innovative technology,” said Louis Samson, the Platinum Equity Partner who led the transaction. “John Galt and his team have built one of Canada’s most successful enterprises and a truly world-class industrial company. We are excited to partner with such an exceptional leadership team and we aim to help them continue raising the bar.”
Platinum Equity invests in a range of industries including manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, metals services, media and entertainment, technology, and telecommunications. The firm is currently investing from Platinum Equity Capital Partners IV, a $6.5 billion buyout fund which closed in March 2017. Platinum Equity has completed more than 200 acquisitions since its founding in 1995. The firm is based in Beverly Hills with additional offices in New York and London (
