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May 13, 2026

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Archives for October 28, 2022

ICG’s Seaway Plastics Acquires MME Group

October 28, 2022 by John McNulty

Seaway Plastics Engineering, a portfolio company of Intermediate Capital Group (ICG), has acquired MME Group.

MME is a provider of contract manufacturing services including injection molding, engineering, tooling, and assembly for FDA-regulated medical and other regulated engineered products. Customers of MME include Motorola, 3M, Tesla Motors, Stryker, GM, Dell, Medtronic, Jabil, Benchmark Electronics and Plexus.

Source: MME Group

MME has nearly 100 employees and operates two facilities in St. Paul, Minnesota, with a combined 110,000 sq. ft. including a 30,000 sq. ft. class 8 clean room. The company was founded in 1974 as Minnesota Mold & Engineering and today is led by CEO and owner Bob Archambault.

“I am proud of the meaningful growth that MME has achieved since I took ownership of the business and am confident that partnering with Seaway is the right next step for our business and employees,” said Mr. Archambault. “Seaway and MME have highly complementary capabilities, and we will leverage our combined skillsets to fully service our growing customer base.”

Seaway Plastics specializes in complex components and assemblies used in the medical, healthcare, aerospace, defense, and precision industrial sectors with the majority of revenue generated by the medical device and healthcare segments. The company’s capabilities include prototyping, low-to-mid volume production, mold making, and surface finishing.

Source: Seaway Plastics Engineering

Seaway was founded in 1984 and has 160 employees and operates three facilities. Two of the company’s facilities are located near Tampa in Port Richey (headquarters) and Brooksville, Florida; and the third facility, operating as Wright Engineered Plastics, is located in Santa Rosa, California.

With the acquisition of MME, the combined company now has 450 employees and 240,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space across five facilities in Florida, California, and Minnesota.

“We are thrilled to have MME and its exceptional team join our business,” said Tom Orr, the president and CEO of Seaway. “The strategic combination of MME with Seaway enhances the strengths of both businesses and enables us to expand sales coverage and production capacity. Together we are better equipped to service the growing needs of device manufacturers.”

“When we acquired Seaway, a crucial part of our investment thesis was to seek out strategic acquisitions, particularly those focused on the large and growing medical device end market. We are thrilled to execute on this strategy, as the addition of MME leaves Tom and the Seaway team well-positioned to grow both organically and through additional acquisitions,” said Kevin Gregory, Healthcare Sector Lead, North American Direct Private Equity at ICG.

ICG, through its North American Direct Private Equity group, acquired Seaway from Tonka Bay Equity Partners in June 2022. Publicly traded and London-headquartered ICG invests across four asset classes – structured and private equity, private debt, real assets, and credit – and has more than $71 billion of assets under management. ICG launched its North American private equity strategy in September 2019.

“Over its nearly 50-year history, MME has built deep relationships with a high-quality customer base and has demonstrated a strong track record of organic growth,” said Uzair Dossani, a managing director at ICG. “We were impressed by how well MME’s business complements Seaway’s, and that synergy will help Tom and the management team smoothly integrate MME.”

Alvarez & Marsal provided accounting and tax due diligence services to both ICG and Seaway, and Kirkland & Ellis provided legal services.

© 2022 Private Equity Professional | October 28, 2022

Filed Under: New Platform, Transactions

Audax’s Aspen Platform Adds Symmetry Surgical

October 28, 2022 by John McNulty

Aspen Surgical Products, a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity, has acquired Symmetry Surgical from RoundTable Healthcare Partners.

Aspen is a manufacturer of surgical disposables products including Bard-Parker blades and scalpels, Precept personal protective equipment, Protek probe covers and needle guides, Stork labor and delivery products, surgical marking pens, and orthopedic positioners. The company’s manufacturing capabilities include injection molding, sewing, ultrasonic welding, die cutting, automated assembly, and packaging as well as blade stamping, grinding, and finishing. Aspen, led by CEO Jason Krieser, was founded in 1999 and is headquartered just south of Grand Rapids in Caledonia, Michigan, with additional facilities in Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Symmetry is a provider of surgical and specialty instrumentation, electrosurgery products, and minimally invasive surgical devices. The company, led by CEO Brian Straeb, is headquartered in Nashville with additional facilities in Kentucky, Germany, and Australia. RoundTable first invested in Symmetry through its $650 million fourth fund in July 2016.

Source: Symmetry Surgical

“Symmetry has a longstanding history of providing high-quality surgical devices and value-added services to the healthcare community, including iconic brands such as Bovie, Bookwalter, and Greenberg,” said Mr. Krieser. “The portfolio is synergistic with Aspen and supports our mission to deliver essential products that improve safety and efficiency in the surgical environment.”

Audax acquired Aspen Surgical from publicly traded Hillrom in July 2019 for $170 million. The buy of Symmetry is Aspen’s sixth add-on acquisition under Audax ownership. The five earlier add-ons include Stork, a division of Briggs Healthcare (June 2021); Montreal-headquartered BlueMed Medical Supplies (March 2021); Iowa-based Protek Medical Products (November 2020); North Carolina-based Precept Medical Products (May 2020); and Washington-based Beatty Marketing & Sales (November 2019).

“Symmetry’s family of category-leading products and gold-standard brands align well with Aspen’s existing portfolio,” said David Wong, a managing director at Audax. “We’re excited to continue investing behind the Aspen platform through both organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions.”

Audax Private Equity invests in middle-market companies that have from $8 million to $50 million in EBITDA and enterprise values of $50 million to $400 million. The firm has invested over $9 billion in 150 platforms and over 1,100 add-on companies. Sectors of interest include business and consumer services; energy; healthcare; technology, media, and telecom; and industrials including chemicals, infrastructure, and building materials. Audax, with offices in Boston, New York, and San Francisco, is currently investing out of its $3.5 billion, sixth private equity fund.

RoundTable, the seller of Symmetry Surgical, is an operating-oriented private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. The firm was founded in 2001 and is headquartered north of Chicago in Lake Forest, Illinois. In May 2022, the firm closed its sixth private equity fund with $800 million in capital commitments.

Senior debt for this transaction was provided by Antares Capital, Golub Capital, BMO Sponsor Finance, and Apogem Capital. Mezzanine debt was provided by Churchill Asset Management, MetLife Investment Management, and Northwestern Mutual Capital. In addition, Linden Capital Partners, through its structured capital strategy, provided preferred equity financing.

Piper Sandler was the financial advisor to Aspen and Audax and Kirkland & Ellis provided legal services.

© 2022 Private Equity Professional | October 28, 2022

Filed Under: New Platform, Transactions

Sole Source Continues Food Distribution Build

October 28, 2022 by John McNulty

Worldwide Produce, a portfolio company of Sole Source Capital, has acquired Left Coast Food Company.

Left Coast is a distributor of produce, dry goods, and frozen goods to foodservice companies in the greater San Diego region. The company, led by President Guy Roney, was founded in 2017 and is headquartered 50 miles north of San Diego in San Marcos, California.

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“Worldwide Produce is an ideal partner to support the continued growth of Left Coast Food Company,” said Mr. Roney. “By joining Worldwide, Left Coast will benefit from Worldwide’s expansive product catalog and supplier relationships to offer more choices to customers to meet their diverse food needs.”

Worldwide Produce is one of the largest produce and dairy distributors in Southern California. The company has more than 6,000 SKUs of fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and specialty foods.

Worldwide operates out of six distribution facilities located in California (4), Nevada, and Arizona and services both foodservice and retail customers across the Western United States. The company was founded in 1989 and is led by CEO Todd Ferguson.

“Left Coast has made a strong impression on its customer base in the region surrounding San Diego, a highly attractive area in which we have operated for years, and we are excited to further expand our presence there,” said Mr. Ferguson. “Worldwide’s operational and product sourcing expertise, combined with Left Coast’s dedicated focus to the San Diego region, will allow both companies to continue to provide the highest level of product and service to our customers.”

Sole Source acquired Worldwide Produce in October 2019 and has closed four earlier add-on acquisitions including California-based Valley Food Services (June 2022), California-based Chef’s Choice Produce (April 2022), California-based Vision Produce (August 2021), and California-based Avalon Fine Foods.

Dallas-headquartered Sole Source makes control investments in high-precision manufacturing, diversified distribution, and industrial service companies that have EBITDA from $5 million to $20 million. The firm specializes in the acquisition of founder-owned businesses and corporate carve-outs. Sole Source was founded in 2016 by David Fredston and is headquartered in Dallas with an additional office in Santa Monica, California.

© 2022 Private Equity Professional | October 28, 2022

Filed Under: Add-on, Transactions

Blair Expands its Supply Chain Services Team

October 28, 2022 by John McNulty

William Blair has expanded its investment banking team with the addition of David Hatch as a managing director. Mr. Hatch has more than 15 years of experience in the supply chain services sector.

Mr. Hatch will be based in William Blair’s Charlotte office and becomes part of the firm’s supply chain and commercial services (SCCS) team. In his new position, Mr. Hatch will be active on both sell-side and buy-side transactions, equity and debt capital markets, private placements, and restructurings.

“Our SCCS team has tremendous momentum as a trusted advisor to innovative and market-leading companies worldwide,” said Jeff Burtelow, managing director and co-head of SCCS investment banking at William Blair. “Dave’s knowledge of the sector is a great complement to our existing team, and he is completely aligned with our client-focused culture.”

Mr. Hatch joins William Blair from Piper Sandler, where he spent more than nine years, most recently as a managing director. He has his undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA from Duke University.

“I’m honored to join William Blair’s SCCS group, where I look forward to integrating my experience into the team’s work with a diverse cross-section of the industry,” said Mr. Hatch. “The firm’s reach in the sector, coupled with an unwavering commitment to the delivery of sophisticated advisory services for complex transactional activity, creates an incredibly specialized approach for clients.”

“We’re excited to welcome Dave to William Blair and add his senior-level expertise to our SCCS team,” said Derek Beres, managing director and co-head of SCCS investment banking at William Blair. “Dave’s addition to the team will enable us to reach even deeper into the sector’s ecosystem to identify comprehensive advisory solutions for our clients in the industry.”

William Blair is a global investment banking and asset management firm headquartered in Chicago. The independent and employee-owned firm has offices in 19 other cities, including London, New York, Shanghai, and Zurich.

© 2022 Private Equity Professional | October 28, 2022

Filed Under: News, People

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