Incline Equity Partners has acquired Fond du Lac Cold Storage (FDL), a provider of refrigerated storage logistics.
FDL specializes in the temperature controlled warehousing of wine, cheese, chocolate and craft beer. The company has 22 million cubic feet of temperature controlled storage space and provides daily delivery services – it has a fleet of 60 refrigerated trucks – to markets in New Jersey, Illinois and New York and also offers other services such as labeling and picking and repacking. FDL was founded in 1998 and is headquartered near New York in Edison, NJ (www.fdlwarehouse.com).
“Our primary customers are small to medium-sized wine importers that need a logistics supplier but are often underserved by our competitors. Many of our customers have grown significantly, and we are committed to growing with them. We are partnering with Incline to improve operational and delivery performance and to strengthen our ability to support our customers,” said Ted Chan, FDL’s founder and CEO.
“We were immediately attracted to FDL given our prior investments in similar distribution businesses,” said Justin Bertram, a Partner with Incline. “FDL has established tremendous trust with its customers. We are excited to leverage our past experience to help Ted and the management team accomplish their long-term growth objectives.”
Incline invests from $15 million to $30 million in support of recapitalizations, buyouts and corporate divestitures of lower middle market companies that have EBITDAs greater than $5 million and enterprise values between $50 million and $200 million. Sectors of interest include value-added distribution, specialized light manufacturing, and business and industrial services. Incline was formed in 2011 and is based in Pittsburgh (www.inclineequity.com).
Backing the buy of FDL by Incline was Twin Brook Capital Partners which acted as the Sole Lead Arranger and Administrative Agent on the senior financing for the transaction.
Providence, RI-based investment bank Riparian Partners (www.riparianpartners.com) was the financial advisor to Fond Du Lac Cold Storage on this transaction.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | November 17, 2017