Wind Point Partners has acquired Hilex Poly Co., a manufacturer of plastic retail bags and a portfolio company of TPG Growth. Wind Point acquired Hilex in partnership with Stan Bikulege, who has been CEO since 2008. Prior to joining Hilex, Mr. Bikulege served as CEO of Renaissance Mark, a paper label producer.
Hilex Poly is the nation’s largest manufacturer of plastic shopping bags, produce bags and related bags and films. Hilex has 10 manufacturing facilities across the U.S, producing over 35 billion bags annually for customers including Wal-Mart, Kroger, Publix, K-Mart, Foot Locker and Dollar General. Hilex operates the only closed-loop bag recycling operation in the U.S. and has the ability to take previously used bags, process them, blend them with virgin resin, and make new bags with a significantly higher percentage of post-consumer content than its competitors. The company is headquartered in Hartsville, SC (www.hilexpoly.com).
Senior debt for the transaction was provided by GE Antares, Fifth Third Bank, Bank of Montreal and KeyBanc.
Simultaneous with the closing of this transaction, Wind Point has added Mike Fitzpatrick, Mike Riordan, Steve Hochhauser and Steve Humphrey to the Board of Directors of Hilex Poly. Mr. Fitzpatrick is the former CEO of Citadel Plastics (a former Wind Point portfolio company) and previous President of Rohm & Haas; Mr. Riordan is the former CEO of Fort Howard Paper; Mr. Hochhauser is the former CEO of Johns Manville; and Mr. Humphrey is the former CEO of Graphic Packaging.
“Hilex is a clear market leader with a strong management team, high quality products and excellent customer service. Wind Point and Stan Bikulege have developed a clear value creation plan to accelerate growth by introducing new products and completing complementary acquisitions,” said Michael Nelson, a managing director at Wind Point.
Wind Point Partners invests from $20 million to $70 million of equity in companies with revenues from $100 million to $500 million and EBITDAs of at least $8 million. Industries of interest include business services, consumer products, healthcare and industrial products. The firm has approximately $2.8 billion in capital under management and has completed more than 90 investments and 160 add-on acquisitions across its seven private equity funds. Wind Point Partners is located in Chicago, IL (www.wppartners.com).
© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-2-12
