Bain Capital Private Equity has closed its acquisition of Imperial Dade, a distributor of disposable food service and janitorial supplies, from Audax Private Equity. Audax made a growth equity investment in Imperial Dade in January 2016 and will remain an investor in the company alongside Bain Capital.
Imperial Dade is one of the largest distributors of disposable food service and janitorial supplies in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Midwest regions and Puerto Rico. The company has more than 15,000 SKUs and approximately 40,000 customers that are active in cruise lines, education, hospitality, sports & entertainment, food service, food processing, healthcare, government and grocery.
Imperial Dade has 2,300 employees and operates from 30 distribution centers and over 20 depots throughout the United States with over 620 fleet vehicles. Imperial Dade has headquarters in Jersey City, NJ and Miami, FL (www.imperialdade.com).
Imperial Dade was formed in 1935 and was purchased by CEO Robert Tillis and President Jason Tillis (father and son) in 2007 with backing from Cyprium Partners. The company was originally known as Imperial Bag & Paper but change its name after acquiring Miami-based Dade Paper & Bag in June 2017.
Since Audax’ investment in Imperial Dade in January 2016, the company completed 16 acquisitions and greenfield expansions which expanded the company’s service footprint into the Southeast, Midwest, and Texas. The most recent buy was the purchase in April 2019 of Woodside, NY-based Edmar Cleaning Corp., a distributor of paper, plastic, chemicals, and janitorial supplies to customers in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
“We are proud to have partnered with Robert and Jason Tillis and the Imperial Dade team in creating the leading platform in the foodservice and janitorial supplies & equipment market,” said Don Bramley, a managing director at Audax. “The company grew organically and through acquisitions while investing in new facilities, systems, and key talent to support and sustain continued growth. We wish continued success for Robert, Jason and their team as they embark on the next chapter of growth with their new partner.”
Audax invests in middle market companies that have from $8 million to $50 million in EBITDA and enterprise values of $50 million to $400 million. Sectors of interest include business and consumer services; energy; healthcare; technology, media and telecom; and industrials including chemicals, infrastructure and building materials. Audax has offices in Boston, New York and San Francisco (www.audaxgroup.com).
“Audax has been a valuable partner in helping us grow Imperial Dade into the leading national distributor,” said CEO Robert Tillis. “We look forward to capitalizing on the significant growth opportunity in front of us by leveraging our acquisition strategy, operational expertise, and scalable platform to better serve our customer base.”
“Imperial Dade is a proven winner. Over the past 12 years, the Tillis family has done an exceptional job of building a structurally advantaged market leader,” said Ken Hanau, a managing director at Bain Capital. “We look forward to partnering with this talented management team to accelerate their acquisition strategy, build on their foundation of commercial and operating excellence, and ultimately create a best in class distribution business with national reach.”
Bain Capital Private Equity was founded in 1984 and invests in the consumer and retail; financial and business services; healthcare; industrials; and technology, media and telecommunications sectors. The firm has a team of approximately 240 investment professionals with 19 offices on four continents including offices in Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Dublin, London, Munich, Melbourne, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo (www.baincapitalprivateequity.com).
“We are excited to partner with Bain Capital along with Audax’ continued involvement to continue building our organic growth and acquisition momentum as we expand our presence across the country,” added President Jason Tillis.
Harris Williams and Lincoln International were the financial advisors to Imperial Dade and Ropes & Gray provided legal services. Kirkland & Ellis was the legal advisor to Bain Capital.
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | June 13, 2019