LFM Capital has acquired a new platform with the buy of SureKap, a manufacturer of packaging machinery.
SureKap’s machines include cappers, conveyors, tables, and fillers that are used in the food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics sectors. SureKap’s customers include, among many others, Bayer, Burt’s Bees, Armstrong Flooring, Rochester Midland and Dunn-Edwards Paints.
In addition to its packaging machinery, SureKap also provides replacement parts, and maintenance and repair services. SureKap was founded in 1987 by President Greg Raines and is headquartered 55 miles northeast of Atlanta in Winder, Georgia.
“We are extremely proud of our established reputation for honesty, quality and reliability which has solidified our deep, long-standing customer relationships,” said Mr. Raines. “To that end, we are thrilled to work with LFM given their strong partnership approach and emphasis on maintaining company culture and values. We intend to leverage LFM’s operational expertise and expansive manufacturing network to grow our team, capacity and capabilities.”
“We are excited about the opportunity to partner with the entire SureKap team,” said Dan Shockley, a managing director at LFM. “Greg has done an outstanding job over the past 30+ years developing SureKap into a leading source for high quality packaging equipment. Moreover, we believe the company is very well-positioned to benefit from the adoption of automation across the highly fragmented United States packaging industry and look forward to supporting the team in this next phase of growth.”
“SureKap truly differentiates itself from other packaging machinery manufacturers through its proprietary machinery, extensive product library, and best-in-class engineering support,” said Conner Harris, a managing director at LFM. “Greg has built a business with a unique value proposition, and we are excited to further invest in the company’s technology and team to continue driving that value proposition.”
In addition to Mr. Shockley and Mr. Harris, LFM’s SureKap transaction team included Associate Jack Jeffrey and Business Development Associate Ryan Richardson.
LFM invests in United States-based manufacturing and industrial services companies with at least $3 million of EBITDA and enterprise values from $15 million to $125 million. LFM was formed in May 2014 by Steve Cook, Rick Reisner, and Dan Shockley and is headquartered in Nashville.
© 2022 Private Equity Professional | January 13, 2022
KPM Analytics, a Union Park Capital portfolio company, has acquired family-owned Bruins Instruments.
“It gives me tremendous pleasure that we could acquire Bruins Instruments,” said Morgan Jones, the managing partner of Union Park. “For anyone who knew Hans Bruins, you know that he had a pride for his technology and a passion for his business which is seldom matched. After years of building a relationship with the owners, we were honored that they would entrust us to shepherd their business after Hans passed away, and we will work tirelessly to advance the business to the potential that Hans and Ingrid had envisioned.”
Sverica Capital Management has promoted Michael Dougherty to principal and Doug Patrican to vice president.
Mr. Dougherty has his undergraduate degree from Brown University, and he currently serves on the boards of directors of Cytracom, a Texas-based provider of cloud-based communications systems; DeFy Security, a Pennsylvania-based provider of cyber security services; Gorilla Logic, a Colorado-based provider of software development and consulting services; and ShadowDragon, a Wyoming-based provider of threat intelligence software.
Mr. Patrican joined Sverica’s Boston office in 2020 and focuses on sourcing and managing the firm’s healthcare investments. He has six years of private equity experience and earned his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his MBA degree from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
Rotunda Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in family-owned Siegel Egg Company, a wholesale distributor of bakery ingredients and other food products.
“We are thrilled to partner with Siegel and support the company in its next stage of accelerated growth,” said Corey Whisner, a partner at Rotunda. “The Siegel investment is a natural extension of Rotunda’s deep experience investing in the food distribution and logistics ecosystems.”
“We believe long-term market tailwinds, including an increased focus on supply chain simplification and reliability as well as growing demand for specialty bakery products, offer a unique opportunity to invest in a regional leader like Siegel,” said Dan Lipson, a partner at Rotunda. “We are eager to invest in the management team and work in partnership as we seek to drive value creation, accelerate organic growth and pursue add-on acquisitions.”
Wynnchurch Capital has sold a majority interest in Rosboro Holdings to One Equity Partners. Wynnchurch acquired Rosboro in December 2016 and the firm will continue to own a minority stake in the company in partnership with OEP.
“Rosboro represented an opportunity to invest in a company with a leading market position, differentiated product offering and long-standing customer relationships,” said Brian Crumbaugh, a partner at Wynnchurch. “We are proud of the management team’s accomplishments during our ownership period and are excited to continue our partnership with management during Rosboro’s next phase of growth.”
Wynnchurch makes investments in middle-market companies that have revenues of $50 million to $1 billion. The firm was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont with additional offices in Los Angeles (El Segundo) and New York City.
DW Healthcare Partners has closed its acquisitions of sister companies Vets Plus and Noble Pharma.
“DWHP is the right partner for us going forward to help grow our pharmaceutical presence and gain market share in our nutraceutical business. I’m excited for the next leg of our journey as I focus on research, product development, and serving on the board,” said Mr. Lall. “I have complete confidence in Dave Nelson who has led our day-to-day operations as president for the past six years and will lead the company as CEO.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Raj Lall, Dave Nelson, Alok Kulshreshtha, and the rest of the team,” said Doug Schillinger, a managing director at DWHP. “They have a proven track record of innovative growth. We look forward to supporting them as the business continues to scale in its traditional nutraceutical market and develops more complex pharmaceuticals at Noble.”
Kainos Capital, an active investor in the food and consumer products sectors, has promoted David Gassko to Principal.
After beginning his career in 2011 as an investment banker with Wells Fargo Securities, Mr. Gassko joined Kainos in 2013 as an associate. Following business school, he returned to Kainos as a vice president in 2018. Mr. Gassko earned his MBA from The Wharton School and he has his undergraduate degree from Rice University.
MidOcean Partners has acquired Casper’s Ice Cream, a manufacturer and supplier of branded and co-packed frozen novelty products.
“MidOcean has been evaluating opportunities in the branded food category for a number of years, with a specific focus on the highly attractive frozen novelty category,” said Daniel Penn, a managing director at MidOcean. “We are thrilled to partner with Casper’s exceptional management team for the company’s next phase of growth.”
“I’m excited to partner with the Casper’s management team and look forward to driving growth and building on the momentum of FatBoy and the entire portfolio of brands,” said Mr. Spinner. “Casper’s offers a wide variety of delicious products for its customers with numerous avenues for continued growth via expanding into new geographies, channels and product lines. We look forward to executing this strategic plan by working closely with the Casper’s team.”
Sweet Harvest Foods, a natural sweeteners platform owned by Blue Road Capital, has acquired Nature Nate’s Honey.
“Sweet Harvest and Nature Nate’s teams align well, from our mission to grow the honey category, to our standards in quality honey, to our company cultures,” said Mr. Stickevers. “I look forward to working with Nate and his team to merge the best insights and practices from each organization to rapidly accelerate the honey and natural sweetener market with our customers.”
The Cook & Boardman Group, a portfolio company of Littlejohn & Co., has acquired National Millwork (NMI).
“NMI fits perfectly into our strategy of offering total opening solutions and I am excited to welcome them to the Cook & Boardman family,” said Mr. Anderson. “Their manufacturing capabilities and installation services will allow us to deliver an even greater value proposition to our customers on multi-family and commercial construction projects – including interior pre-hung doors.”
Greenwich, Connecticut-based 
