Comvest Partners has acquired VanDeMark Chemical, a manufacturer of phosgene and phosgene derivatives, from Verus Investment Partners.
Phosgene is a colorless gas and is extremely hazardous to manufacture and transport. The chemical compound is a critical raw material for many pharmaceutical, agricultural, and specialty chemical products.
VanDeMark’s phosgene products include a range of more than 30 chemical compounds that are used in the production of paints and coatings, pharmaceuticals, plastics and polymers, adhesives and sealants, agricultural products and other products.
The company, led by CEO Mike Kucharski, was founded in 1951 and is headquartered near Buffalo in Lockport, NY with an additional facility in Kazincbarcika, Hungary (www.vandemark.com).
VanDeMark was acquired in 1999 by France-based Isochem/Groupe SNPE and was sold in 2007 to Buckingham Capital Partners for $40 million. In December 2012, Buckingham sold the company to Uni-World Capital (now Verus Investment Partners).
“Since we acquired VanDeMark in 2012 it has increased its revenue, entered new markets and extended the range of applications for its portfolio of chemical compounds based on phosgenation chemistry,” said Christopher Fuller, managing partner of Verus. “The company also successfully grew by acquisition with its transformative purchase of Hungary-based Framochem in 2014. We now wish VanDeMark continued success.”
“Verus has been an incredibly supportive partner, helping me and my team take VanDeMark to the next level through investments in capital, people and processes to improve the business,” said Mr. Kucharski. “The acquisition of Framochem, which Verus sourced and led, opened up international markets and transformed the company from the largest independent phosgene producer in North America to the leading global player that we are today.”
Verus Investment Partners (formerly known as Uni-World Capital) invests in companies that have EBITDA of more than $5 million and enterprise values from $20 million to $100 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.)
“VanDeMark’s highly diversified platform and global market leadership make for a compelling investment opportunity,” said Matt Gullen, a partner at Comvest. “We are excited to partner with the management team to continue to support future growth initiatives.”
Comvest provides debt and equity to middle-market companies. For debt investments, the firm will invest from $20 million to $200 million per transaction in companies with at least $20 million of revenue and EBITDA of at least $5 million. For equity investments, the firm will invest from $35 million to $125 million of equity per transaction in companies with $50 million to $1 billion of revenue that have positive or negative EBITDA. Sectors of interest include business services, consumer & retail, healthcare services, industrials, and transportation & logistics. Comvest, founded in 2000, is based in West Palm Beach with additional offices in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles (www.comvest.com).
“We have seen tremendous growth in our business and believe that we are well-positioned to benefit from strong industry tailwinds,” said Mr. Kucharski. “With Comvest’s support, we are excited to continue to invest in our capabilities, team and the development of new products.”
William Blair (www.williamblair.com) and Houlihan Lokey (www.HL.com) were the financial advisors to VanDeMark.
Kirkland & Ellis (www.kirkland.com) provided legal services to Comvest on this transaction.
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | April 24, 2019
