paper products

H.I.G. Adds-on to Recycled Paperboard Platform

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Caraustar Industries, a portfolio company of H.I.G., has completed the acquisition of The Newark Group, a manufacturer of recycled paperboard.

The Newark Group is a manufacturer of recycled paperboard, linerboard, industrial tubes, cores and other converted products including book covers.  The company has approximately 1,500 employees and operates over 20 North American based manufacturing facilities. The Newark Group is headquartered southwest of Newark in Cranford, NJ (www.newarkgroup.com).

Caraustar, acquired by H.I.G. in May 2013, is an integrated manufacturer and converter of 100% recycled paperboard and converted paperboard products. Caraustar serves end-use markets in tube and core, folding carton, gypsum facing paper and specialty paperboard products. The company was founded in 1938 and is based in Austell, GA (www.caraustar.com).

“We are excited to add The Newark Group to our company,” said Caraustar President and CEO Michael Patton. “The combination of these two companies offers a compelling platform for future growth and will make us more competitive in the end use customer segments we serve.”

H.I.G. specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies and invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of manufacturing or service businesses. H.I.G. has more than $17 billion of capital under management. The firm was founded in 1993 and is based in Miami with additional offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Francisco, London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro (www.higcapital.com).

“We are pleased to support Michael Patton and his team as they continue building a best-in-class, integrated manufacturer of recycled paperboard and related products,” said Tenno Tsai, a Managing Director of H.I.G. “We look forward to working with them to integrate Newark into Caraustar and continuing pursuit of our growth plan.”

Financing for the transaction was provided by Credit Suisse Securities, Jefferies, Wells Fargo Capital Finance, and Regions Business Capital.

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-20-15

H.I.G. Capital Acquires Caraustar Industries

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H.I.G. Capital has acquired Caraustar Industries, a provider of recycled paperboard and related products, from Wayzata Investment Partners.

“We are very excited about the Caraustar opportunity,” said Tenno Tsai, a Principal of H.I.G. “Caraustar is a market leader with a blue chip customer base, broad geographic footprint and an efficient, high quality manufacturing base. We believe there are numerous market opportunities going forward and we look forward to supporting CEO Mike Patton and his team in achieving continued growth.”

Financing for this transaction was provided by Credit Suisse Securities, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Jefferies, and Wells Fargo Capital Finance.

Caraustar is one of North America’s largest integrated manufacturers and converters of 100% recycled paperboard and converted paperboard products. Caraustar serves end-use markets in tube and core, folding carton, gypsum facing paper and specialty paperboard products. The company was founded in 1938 and is based in Austell, GA (www.caraustar.com).

In 2009, Wayzata led a group of bondholders in a pre-packaged chapter 11 process in which Wayzata acquired a majority ownership stake in Caraustar. The Wayzata led restructuring reduced Caraustar’s debt burden and improved Caraustar’s balance sheet. Since exiting bankruptcy, Caraustar has used its stronger balance sheet to drive operational improvement and to increase profitability. Wayzata Investment Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on opportunities in undervalued debt, equity and assets. The firm has assets under management of over $7 billion and is based in Wayzata, MN (www.wayzatainvestmentpartners.com).

H.I.G. Capital specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies and invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of manufacturing or service businesses. H.I.G. Capital has more than $11 billion of equity capital under management. The firm was founded in 1993 and is based in Miami with additional offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Francisco, London, Hamburg, Madrid, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro (www.higcapital.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 5-2-13