Heartwood Closes Continuation Vehicle for Amlon

Heartwood Partners has closed a continuation fund for The Amlon Group, a provider of hazardous waste management and environmental services, with approximately $245 million in capital commitments. The transaction was led by Apogem Capital.

New investors in the vehicle include New 2ND Capital, Reinsurance Group of America (RGA), Mercer Investments, Round2 Investment Partners, and Flexstone Partners. Proceeds from the transaction will be used to support future add-on acquisitions and greenfield expansion projects for Amlon.

Amlon specializes in waste-to-value processing, focusing on recycling industrial byproducts rather than disposing of them in landfills. Specifically, Amlon processes metal-bearing waste streams from industries such as oil refining and semiconductor manufacturing, recovering valuable metals like copper, nickel, and cobalt which are then sold back into the supply chain. The company, led by CEO Mark Wayne, is headquartered near Dallas in Plano, Texas.

Since Heartwood’s initial investment in Amlon 2021 through its third fund, the company has completed four add-on acquisitions: Louisiana-based Thermaldyne (September 2022); Texas-based Paragon Southwest (June 2023); Tennessee-based Music City Group (June 2023); and Texas-based EcoWater (January 2024).

“Amlon has delivered exceptional results since our initial investment, and we see a clear path to significantly scale the business over the next several years,” said Demetrios Dounis, a managing partner at Heartwood Partners. “We are excited to continue our partnership with Amlon and appreciate the confidence and backing from our investors. Through this continuation vehicle, we can lengthen our investment timeline, further advance management’s strategic initiatives, and provide our investors with liquidity at an attractive valuation.”

Heartwood Partners invests in U.S.-based companies with revenues between $20 million and $250 million and EBITDA between $3 million and $30 million. Sectors of interest include food, agriculture, specialty chemicals, niche manufacturing, packaging, and industrial and consumer services. Heartwood is currently investing through its fourth fund, Heartwood Partners Fund IV LP. The Norwalk, Connecticut-based firm was founded as Capital Partners in 1982 and rebranded to Heartwood Partners in September 2020.

Apogem Capital was established in April 2022 to unify the operations of GoldPoint Partners, Madison Capital Funding, and PA Capital, which previously operated collectively under the New York Life Investments Alternatives umbrella. The firm, headquartered in New York City, is led by CEO Christopher Taylor and manages more than $37 billion in assets across private credit, private equity, and real assets.

Harris Williams and Brown Gibbons Lang were the financial advisors to Heartwood on this transaction with DLA Piper providing legal services.