Pestell Group, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners, has acquired sister companies Pro-Ag Products and Verus Animal Nutrition.
Pro-Ag is a distributor of feed ingredients, feed additives, and animal health products that are used in the swine, dairy, and poultry sectors. Verus provides animal nutrition products to the beef, dairy, equine, poultry, swine and companion animal sectors. Both businesses are headquartered in Winnipeg (www.pro-ag.com) (www.verusanimalnutrition.com).
Pestell operates through two business units: Pestell Minerals and Ingredients (PMI), a distributor of animal feed minerals and ingredients for a variety of livestock; and Pestell Pet Products (PET), a full-line manufacturer of branded and private label cat litter and small animal bedding products. Both PMI and PET operate out of shared warehousing and manufacturing space near Toronto in New Hamburg, ON. Pestell also maintains 15 third-party warehouses across North America for its animal feed products business. Wind Point acquired Pestell in partnership with consumer packaged goods executive Matt Miller in June 2018 (www.pestell.com).
The acquisition of Pro-Ag and Verus is strategic to Pestell’s PMI business unit, which also distributes feed ingredients, as the combination will allow both companies to leverage their product portfolios and cross-sell to their respective customer bases. Pro-Ag and Verus also have strong feed additives portfolios which complement PMI’s existing minerals and feed ingredients product line. In addition, the acquisition expands PMI’s geographic presence further west in Canada. In June 2019, Pestell acquired VersaPet, a Toronto-based manufacturer of private label and branded cat litter products.
“Pro-Ag and Verus are very strategic acquisitions that we are thrilled to have as part of the PMI business,” said Paul Peterson, a managing director with Wind Point. “We expect these acquisitions to help us create additional avenues for growth as we focus on maximizing our geographic reach, generating cross-selling opportunities, and augmenting the existing product portfolio.”
Wind Point invests from $50 million to $100 million in companies with EBITDAs of at least $10 million. Industries of interest include business services, consumer products and industrial products. In June 2017, Wind Point held a final closing of its eighth fund, Wind Point Partners VIII LP, with $985 million of capital commitments. The fund exceeded its initial hard cap of $750 million and is the largest fund closing in Wind Point’s history. The firm was founded in 1984 and is based in Chicago (www.wppartners.com).
Antares Capital, BMO Sponsor Finance and PennantPark led the debt financing for this transaction.
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | August 8, 2019
