Wind Point and Ontario Teachers Sell Aurora to Nautic

Wind Point Partners and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (OTPP) have sold Aurora Plastics to Nautic Partners.

Aurora Plastics is a provider of flexible and rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermoplastic elastomers, and other engineered materials that are used in the building and construction, industrial and consumer end-markets. PVC is the third-most widely produced synthetic plastic polymer and is available in rigid (RPVC) and flexible formats.

Aurora’s custom RPVC powders, pellets, foams and alloys are sold to small and medium-sized manufacturers, primarily in the building products end markets.

In addition to its PVC products, Aurora’s other polymer products include thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), thermoplastic rubber (TPR), thermoplastic polyolefin elastomers (TPO), and thermoplastic chlorinated polyethylene elastomers (CPE), as well as other flame retardant plastic compounds. Aurora was founded in 1997 and has facilities in Streetsboro, Ohio (headquarters); Welcome, North Carolina; Marieville, Quebec; Lunenburg, Massachusetts, and Pasadena, Texas.

Wind Point and OTPP acquired Aurora Plastics from its founders in August 2016 in partnership with specialty materials executive Darrell Hughes, who joined the company as its chief executive officer.

“I want to thank Wind Point, Ontario Teachers’ and our board for their outstanding support over the last five years,” said Mr. Hughes. “Our partnership has successfully built a truly market-leading, scalable organization that continues to deliver on a proven playbook for serving our customers, employees, and all stakeholders. We very much look forward to continuing our exciting momentum with Nautic as a partner.”

“Aurora is a great example of how Wind Point’s focus on partnering with a top-caliber CEO and building a world-class management team can drive tremendous value for our investors,” said Nathan Brown, a managing director at Wind Point. “Aurora has built a powerful, differentiated business model, and the company’s success would not have been possible without the leadership of Darrell and his team, who executed on every aspect of our transformative value creation plan. We wish them continued success in their new partnership with Nautic.”

“Aurora is a market leader with an outstanding management team,” said Chris Pierce, a managing director at Nautic. “Their history of successfully completing acquisitions and commitment to continuous innovation position the business well for continued growth. We are delighted to partner with Darrell and his team for the next chapter of Aurora’s growth.”

Chicago-based Wind Point invests from $50 million to $100 million in companies with EBITDA of at least $10 million. Industries of interest include business services, consumer products and industrial products. Wind Point is currently investing out of Wind Point Partners IX LP which closed in February 2021 with $1.5 billion of capital. Fund IX is the largest fund ever raised by Wind Point.

“Today’s sale is the culmination of a highly successful partnership with Wind Point, which has seen Aurora establish itself as a leading North American provider of custom material solutions. We believe this transaction is a great outcome for all parties, and we look forward to continuing to watch Aurora thrive under its new owners,” said Karen Frank, a senior managing director at OTPP.

Toronto-headquartered Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is one of Canada’s largest and most active pension investors with C$221 billion in assets under management.

Nautic is a middle-market private equity firm that makes majority equity investments of $50 million to $250 million in companies that are active in the healthcare, industrial products, and outsourced services sectors. In March 2019, the Providence, Rhode Island-based firm held a final closing of Nautic Partners IX LP at its hard cap with $1.5 billion of limited partner commitments.

William Blair and Barclays were the financial advisors to Aurora Plastics on this transaction with Antares Capital and Carlyle Global Credit leading the debt financing.

© 2021 Private Equity Professional | August 12, 2021