BlueArc Capital Partners and Merit Capital Partners have formed Choice Slocum Holdings to acquire Choice Brands Adhesives and Slocum Adhesives Corporation.
Slocum Adhesives is a manufacturer of custom formulated industrial adhesives. The company’s solvent‐based, water‐based and hot melt adhesives are used in furniture, clothing, sheet metal, construction, automotive, and footwear applications. Slocum Adhesives has over 140,000 square feet of manufacturing space and is headquartered in Lynchburg, VA (www.slocumadhesives.com).
Choice Brands is a distributor of industrial adhesives to a wide variety of end markets and applications, with a significant market share in the high-pressure laminates and building products markets. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH (www.choicebrandsadhesives.com).
Slocum and Choice Brands and have been working together for over eight years with Slocum manufacturing the majority of the products sold by Choice Brands. The two businesses will now operate under the newly formed entity, Choice Slocum Holdings, and will be headquartered in Cincinnati. Robert Johnson will serve as CEO of the business with David Tally as the VP of Sales. Mark Brown will remain as President of the Slocum Adhesives facilities. The senior managers of the business participated in this transaction alongside BlueArc Capital and Merit Capital.
Merit Capital invests mezzanine and equity capital of $20 million to $60 million in companies with at least $5 million of EBITDA that are active in the manufacturing, distribution and services industries. The firm focuses on recapitalizations and buyout transactions, primarily in partnership with family-owned companies, existing owner-managers, and with independent sponsors. Merit is led by its founding partners Terrance Ship and Marc Walfish and is based in Chicago (www.meritcapital.com).
In April 2018, Merit held an above-target close of its sixth fund at $536 million. The subordinated debt and equity investment in Choice Slocum is the seventh platform investment by Fund VI and is the fifth Fund VI portfolio company in which Merit has partnered with an independent sponsor.
BlueArc Capital Partners is the private equity division of BlueArc Capital, a provider of alternative investment strategies to family offices and other qualified investors. The firm was founded by Ronald Zazworsky, Jr. in August 2005 and is headquartered in Atlanta (www.bluearccapital.com).
The acquisition of Choice Slocum by BlueArc Capital and Merit Capital closed in April 2018. Joe Licata, a Senior Partner at BlueArc Capital, and Evan Gallinson, a Managing Director at Merit Capital, led the transaction.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | May 23, 2018
