Monomoy Capital Partners has sold Astro Shapes to Wynnchurch Capital. Monomoy acquired Astro Shapes in December 2020 from National Material LP.
Astro Shapes specializes in creating over 14,000 unique extrusion shapes and sizes with finishes including painted, thermal, anodized, and other coatings. The company’s products are used in residential and commercial windows and doors, RV components, and equipment for medical and industrial applications. The company produces approximately 145 million pounds of extrusions annually.
Astro Shapes was founded in 1971 by Bob Cene, Sr. and is currently led by CEO Paul Cene, the son of the founder. The company has more than 700 employees and a 450,000 sq. ft. production and headquarters facility located southeast of Youngstown in Struthers, Ohio.
During Monomoy’s four-year ownership term, Astro Shapes expanded its market share, added new products, and integrated an in-house sales team and a new CRM system. With the sale to Wynnchurch, Astro Shapes has promoted Steve DeVoe to CEO.
“Astro Shapes has an industry-leading value proposition with its unique services and technological capabilities,” said Greg Gleason, a managing partner at Wynnchurch. “We’re excited to partner with Steve and his team to continue their track record of delivering superior products and services to their customers and build upon Astro Shapes’ position as a leading manufacturer of specialty aluminum products.”
“The success Astro Shapes has experienced during our partnership with Monomoy is not only due to tactical improvements but also the holistic value-creation approach we have executed together,” said Mr. Cene, who has transitioned to an advisory role on Astro Shapes’ board of directors. “In Monomoy, we established a team of thought partners who deeply understand family-led companies and helped equip us with the necessary resources to continue my father’s legacy. On behalf of my family, we are proud of the Astro Shapes team and grateful for Monomoy’s leadership, and we wish Steve and the entire company continued growth and success.”
“Monomoy is honored to have partnered alongside Paul and a devoted management team to supercharge the growth of the Astro Shapes business,” said Jaime Forsyth, a partner at Monomoy. “We achieved success through our co-development of key operational initiatives that resulted in significant growth during a market downturn. We would like to congratulate Paul, Steve, and the entire Astro Shapes team, who should be very proud of the legacy they have built, and wish the entire company continued success in this next chapter with Wynnchurch.”
Monomoy Capital Partners makes control investments of debt and equity in companies with $20 million to $100 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, distribution, and services across North America. In July 2024, after just five months of fundraising, Monomoy held an oversubscribed and above-target closing of its fifth fund with $2.25 billion of capital. Monomoy was founded in 2005 and is based in New York City, with over $5 billion in assets under management.
Wynnchurch Capital invests in businesses with revenues between $50 million and $1 billion. Its expertise includes recapitalizations, growth capital, management buyouts, corporate carve-outs, and restructurings. Wynnchurch focuses on sectors such as aerospace, defense, and government; building products and materials; consumer and food; manufacturing, industrial, and transportation; and business services and distribution. Founded in 1999, Wynnchurch is headquartered near Chicago in Rosemont, Illinois. In January 2024, the firm closed its sixth private equity fund, Wynnchurch Capital Partners VI LP, with $3.5 billion in committed capital.
KeyBanc Capital Markets and Houlihan Lokey Capital were the financial advisors to Astro Shapes and Monomoy. Lincoln International acted as board advisor to Astro Shapes, while Goldman Sachs & Co. served as the financial advisor to Wynnchurch.
© 2025 Private Equity Professional | February 4, 2025
Pete & Gerry’s Organics, a portfolio company of Butterly, has acquired Farmers Hen House, a portfolio company of Benford Capital.
“Pasture Brands is a great example of BCP’s approach to scaling CPG brands,” said Ben Riefe, a managing director at Benford Capital. “Since partnering with Ryan Miller in December 2021, the key tenets of our value creation plan included building the senior management team and growing the Company’s branded sales through new customer wins. We are thrilled with this successful realization and are confident the company is well-positioned for continued success in the years ahead.”
Chicago-based 
Butterfly, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, acquired a majority stake in Pete & Gerry’s in May 2021 in partnership with British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI).
Blue Sage Capital has held a final closing of its fourth fund, Blue Sage Capital IV LP (Fund IV), with $618 million of capital. The new fund closed above its original $400 million target and its original hard cap of $550 million.
“We are humbled by the consistent support of our limited partners and look forward to continuing to generate strong returns for them and their stakeholders who are investing their capital alongside ours,” said Peter Huff, the founder and managing partner of Blue Sage. “We maintain a deep sense of responsibility to our limited partners who have placed their trust in our team. We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to continuing to build truly exceptional portfolio companies by collaborating with outstanding management teams.”
Abacus Finance Group, an active cash flow lender to private equity, has promoted Sean McKeever to President from Chief Operating Officer, Greg Scanlon to Senior Associate from Associate, and has hired Jeremy Pak as an Analyst.
Mr. McKeever, a founding partner of Abacus and a member of its investment committee, plays a pivotal role in the firm’s investing and fundraising activities. Before joining Abacus, he was a founding partner at Amalgamated Capital and served as a vice president at Churchill Financial. His career also includes being a founding member of the leveraged finance group at Comerica Bank. Mr. McKeever holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from Babson College and an MS in Financial Economics from Boston University.
Mr. Scanlon is active at Abacus in structuring, underwriting, executing, monitoring, and valuing investments. He joined Abacus in 2021 after working as an analyst in MetLife Investment’s Corporate Private Credit Group. Mr. Scanlon holds an undergraduate degree in finance from Rutgers.
Jeremy Pak joined Abacus last month and supports the firm’s investment operations, including structuring, underwriting, executing, monitoring, and valuing investments. Before joining Abacus, Mr. Pak was an analyst in New York City with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s (SMBC) leveraged finance group and began his career as a credit analyst at Charlotte-based Truist. Mr. Pak holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from Washington and Lee University.
