Dot Family Holdings, the investment office of the Tracy family, has acquired TAGG Logistics.
TAGG is an e-commerce fulfillment platform that offers nationwide B2B and B2C e-commerce order fulfillment, retail distribution services, contract packaging, reverse logistics and kitting and assembly. Many of TAGG’s customers are active in the healthcare and consumer products sectors.
In addition to its St. Louis headquarters, the company has three additional facilities in Reno, NV; Sparks, NV; and near Philadelphia in Macungie, PA. TAGG was founded in 2006 by Tod Yazdi and Gary Patterson and has 140 employees (www.tagglogistics.com).
“Dot Family Holdings’ business experience and resources complement TAGG,” said Mr. Yazdi, TAGG’s CEO. “Dot has extensive experience in logistics and distribution, and our new partners bring a lot of resources and expertise that will help TAGG continue to grow.” Post-closing, the current leadership team of TAGG will continue to manage the operations of the business with Dot Family Holdings providing oversight and governance.
The Tracy family is the owner and operator of Dot Foods, one of the largest food industry redistributors in the US. The company offers over 112,000 products from 830 food industry manufacturers. Dot consolidates these products and delivers in less-than-truckload quantities to distributors nationwide on a weekly basis. Dot has approximately 4,200 employees and annual revenues in excess of $6 billion. The company has nine distribution centers that serve all 50 states and over 25 countries. Dot is headquartered in Mount Sterling, IL (www.dotfoods.com).
“E-commerce is a rapidly growing industry where we see great opportunity,” said Heath Hunter, Vice President – Corporate Development of Dot Family Holdings. “TAGG is a successful and growing business and is a great fit within our portfolio of companies. For now, it will be business as usual at TAGG, but there is the potential for collaboration between Dot Foods and TAGG down the road.”
Dot Foods was founded in 1960 by Robert Tracy and was originally named Associated Dairy Products to reflect the nature of the business at the time. In 2016, Dot Foods was listed at number 65 on Forbes’ list of America’s Largest Private Companies with a reported revenue of $6.2 billion in 2015. In 2017, John Tracy moved from CEO to executive chairman of the company, and his brother, Joe Tracy, became CEO. Another brother, Dick Tracy, was appointed president. All three are sons of founder Robert Tracy and his wife, Dorothy.
Dot Family Holdings invests in non-food distribution businesses – to avoid any conflict with Dot Foods’ customers and suppliers – that are based in the US or Canada and have enterprise values between $25 million and $250 million or EBITDA in the range of $5 million to $30 million. The family office is based in St. Louis (www.dotfamilyholdings.com).
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | August 31, 2018
Boyne Capital has acquired AC Business Media in partnership with the company’s management team. The selling shareholders were the company’s Chairman Anil Narang and CEO Carl Wistreich, and both have maintained a minority interest in the company.
“AC Business Media is a market leader that is poised for future growth,” said Mr. Lovette. “By partnering with Boyne, AC Business Media will be able to continue investing in its products and capabilities and significantly enhance our ability to provide great value to our customers.”
Boyne makes investments in lower middle market companies that have revenues of less than $100 million and EBITDA of $2 million to $10 million. Sectors of interest include healthcare services, agriculture, consumer products, niche manufacturing, and business & financial services. In July 2017, Boyne closed its debut institutional fund, BCM Fund I LP, with $126 million of capital commitments, surpassing the original target of $100 million. Boyne was founded by Derek McDowell in 2006 and is headquartered in Miami (
“AC Business Media is a leader in construction media with a portfolio of brands unmatched in the industry,” said Mr. McDowell. “We are pleased to be partnering with Barry Lovette and AC Business Media’s long-tenured management team to grow the company by expanding its already substantial audience and capabilities.”
WILsquare Capital has added Andrew Scharf to its investment team as a Vice President.
Prior to joining WILsquare, Mr. Scharf spent four years at Atlanta-based investment bank Croft & Bender where he was active in all aspects of transaction sourcing and execution as well as supporting investments in three growth equity funds. He joined Croft & Bender in 2014 as an Analyst and was promoted over his tenure to Senior Analyst, Associate and Vice President. Earlier in his career, Mr. Scharf spent two years with PwC as an Assurance Associate. He has his MBA and undergraduate degrees from Tulane University.
