plastic containers

Madison Dearborn Buys IPL Plastics

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Madison Dearborn Partners has partnered with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) to acquire publicly traded IPL Plastics at an enterprise value of $736 million.

IPL Plastics (TSX: IPLP) is a maker of packaging used in the food, consumer, agricultural, logistics and environmental end-markets.

The company’s products include large format packaging (pails, containers, crates, and wheeled bins); consumer packaging (injection-molded containers and lids); and returnable packaging (bulk containers, and reusable and collapsible containers). IPL was founded in 1939 and is based in Montreal, Canada with additional offices in Dublin, Ireland.

In 2019, IPL had revenues of $605 million, gross profit of $119 million (a 19.7% GPM), and EBITDA of $83 million (a 13.7% EBITDA margin). This yields an EBITDA valuation multiple of 8.9x.

IPL was founded in 1939 and went public on the Montreal Stock Exchange in 1985. The company was taken private by Novacap and Fonds de solidarité FTQ in 2010, and the two investors exited in 2015 through a sale of a majority interest in IPL to One51, an Ireland-based maker of plastic containers. The combined companies went public on the Toronto Stock exchange in 2018.

Madison Dearborn invests in privately held or publicly traded companies in the following sectors: basic industries; business and government software and services; financial and transaction services; health care; and telecom, media, and technology services. In August 2016, the firm closed its seventh buyout fund at $4.4 billion. Madison Dearborn was founded in 1992 and is based in Chicago.

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is an institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and para-public pension and insurance plans. As of December 2019, it held C$340 billion in net assets.

Committed financing for this transaction has been provided by Bank of America, BMO Capital Markets, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank. BMO Capital Markets is the financial advisor to the IPL Plastics and Evercore is advising Madison Dearborn.

Private Equity Professional | July 31, 2020

Genstar Adds to Pretium

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Pretium Packaging, a manufacturer of plastic containers and closures and a portfolio company of Genstar Capital, has acquired Olcott Plastics.

Olcott Plastics’ manufacturing capabilities include the plastic injection molding, mold building, printing and plastic cap lining. The company produces more than a million plastic jars and closure combinations a day and specializes in packaging for the beauty and healthcare sectors.

Olcott Plastics was founded in 1969 and is based in St. Charles, IL (www.olcottplastics.com). The buy of the company is the sixth add-on acquisition by Pretium since being acquired by Genstar in May 2014.

Pretium Packaging is a manufacturer of plastic containers and closures for the food; specialty beverage; household and industrial cleaner; sports nutrition and health; and beauty product industries. Pretium has more than 700 customers, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to smaller privately-owned businesses, and manufactures approximately two billion PET and HDPE containers annually from its 17 locations across the United States and Canada. The company, led by CEO Paul Kayser, is headquartered near St. Louis in Chesterfield, MO (www.pretiumpkg.com).

The buy of Olcott meaningfully bolsters Pretium’s injection molding and personal care and beauty product offerings. In keeping with Pretium’s acquisition philosophy, the existing employees and management of Olcott will be retained. “We are pleased to welcome co-owners Joseph Brodner and John Brodner, and the Olcott employees, to the Pretium organization,” said Mr. Kayser. “The acquisition brings significant beauty care packaging expertise and a robust product line to the Pretium portfolio, which nicely complement the health and beauty care packaging offerings already in our portfolio.”

“Genstar is excited to be sponsoring Pretium’s acquisition of Olcott, which is the sixth acquisition completed during Genstar’s ownership,” said David Golde, a managing director at Genstar. “Olcott brings to Pretium significant expertise and market presence in injection molding and personal care packaging, both of which represent key areas of continued investment and growth for Pretium.”

Genstar invests from $50 million to $400 million in middle-market companies that have enterprise values from $50 million to $1 billion and EBITDAs greater than $15 million.  The firm targets investments in the financial services, software, industrial technology, and healthcare industries. In February 2019, Genstar held a final closing of Genstar Capital Partners IX LP with $5.9 billion in capital commitments. Genstar was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in San Francisco (www.gencap.com).

P&M Corporate Finance (www.pmcf.com) was the financial advisor to Olcott.

© 2019 Private Equity Professional | April 16, 2019

MSD Partners Acquires Ring Container

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MSD Partners has agreed to buy Ring Container Technologies, one of the largest plastic container manufacturers in North America, from Carl Ring and his family.

Ring Container is a blow molder of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles that are sold to the food service, retail food and other end-use markets. Since its founding in 1968, the company has become one of the largest plastic container manufacturers in North America. Ring employs more than 700 people throughout its headquarters and manufacturing locations in 17 cities across the US, Canada and the UK. The company is headquartered 35 miles east of Memphis in Oakland, TN (www.ringcontainer.com).

Upon closing of the transaction in the fourth quarter, Ring will continue to be led by CEO Ben Livingston and his executive team, who will retain their ownership interests. Rapac, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ring and the largest recycler of polystyrene in the US and a provider of engineered resins for a variety of end-use applications, is included in the acquisition.

“Ring fits seamlessly with MSD Partners’ strategy to invest for the long term in companies that are stable, in industries that are thriving, and in management teams that are able to generate growth,” said Kevin Brown, a Managing Director in the Private Capital Group at MSD Partners. “Everything at Ring is best in class – from the way the teams execute projects, to the overall financial profile. We look forward to growing with this team.”

MSD Partners invests across a range of asset classes. For direct investments in operating companies the firm looks to invest at least $100 million in business that have enterprise values of $200 million to $1 billion or more and EBITDA in excess of $25 million. Industries of interest include business and tech-enabled services, light industrial and industrial services, value-added distribution, healthcare services, media and entertainment, and consumer products.

The buy of Ring is the latest control investment by MSD Partners and follows its recently completed acquisition of Hayward Industries, an Elizabeth, NJ-based manufacturer of residential and commercial pool equipment and industrial flow control products, in partnership with CCMP Capital Advisors and Alberta Investment Management Corporation.

“Throughout the due diligence process, we maintained a commitment to identifying a new, long-term owner who appreciated Ring’s culture and other qualities that have been fundamental to our growth into an industry leader,” said Carl Ring, Chairman. “MSD Partners not only is an organization that we respect, but it is a seamless fit with our culture and the best possible owner to move our company forward.”

“The acquisition comes at a perfect time for Ring,” said Ben Livingston, CEO of Ring. “MSD Partners believes fully in what we are doing, and will provide the needed capital so that we can continue to invest in innovation, best-in-industry technology platforms, and world-class manufacturing.”

MSD Partners was formed in 2009 by the principals of MSD Capital to enable a select group of investors to invest in strategies that were developed by MSD Capital, a family office formed to manage the capital of Michael Dell and his family. MSD Partners is headquartered in New York with an additional office in London (www.msdprivatecapital.com).

Ring Container was advised by BMO Capital Markets.

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | September 15, 2017

MSCP Acquires Fisher Container

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Morgan Stanley Capital Partners (MSCP) has acquired Fisher Container, a maker of flexible plastic pouches, bags and films. MSCP is partnering with plastics and packaging executive, Kevin Keneally, and the current Fisher management team to acquire the company.

Fisher’s products include shrink packaging, printed rollstock, specialty bags, barrier pouches, industrial bags, and child proof packaging that are used in cleanroom, food and industrial applications. The company is a third generation family business, founded by Don Fisher in 1969. Fisher Container is based in the Chicago suburb of Buffalo Grove (www.fishercontainer.com).

“I am very proud of our family business and have taken great care to find the best partner to take it forward. I have come to know the MSCP team well and am confident that they bring the skills, capabilities, and approach necessary to build and expand on our success,” said Mr. Fischer. Mr. Keneally will become Chief Executive Officer as part of the transaction and will replace Mr. Fisher, who will be retiring.

Mr. Keneally was the CEO of plastic film maker – and Huron Capital owned – Optimum Plastics beginning in June 2012 until the sale of the company in December 2015 to Charter NEX, a blown and cast film extrusion company and a portfolio company of Pamplona Capital Management. Most recently he has been an operating partner with Huron Capital.

“MSCP’s investment in Fisher is the culmination of a multi-year review of the packaging sector, and we believe the company is primed for outsized growth,” said Mark Bye, Managing Director and Operating Partner of MSCP. “We look forward to supporting the management team as they work to further strengthen Fisher’s offerings through improved commercial strategies and operations.”

Morgan Stanley Capital Partners is the middle-market focused private equity business of Morgan Stanley Investment Management which in turn is part Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), a financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services (www.morganstanley.com).

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | February 7, 2017

KODA Sells KLW Plastics

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KLW Plastics, a portfolio company of KODA Enterprises Group, has been acquired by BWAY Corporation, a portfolio company of Stone Canyon Industries.

KLW Plastics, a portfolio company of KODA since 2005, is a manufacturer of one to seven gallon rigid and semi-rigid tight-head plastic containers that are used in the food, chemical and agricultural end-markets. The company has a 40,000 sq. ft. manufacturing and headquarters facility located northeast of Cincinnati in Monroe, OH, with additional manufacturing facilities in Houston and Atlanta (www.klwplastics.com).

BWAY is a manufacturer of rigid metal and plastic containers that are used primarily for packaging of industrial, bulk food and retail goods. Products include aerosol cans, ammunition boxes, cone and pour top cans, metal paint cans, oil cans, and plastic drums. The company is led by CEO Ken Roessler. BWAY operates 25 plants throughout the United States and Canada and is based in Atlanta (www.bwaycorp.com).

Stone Canyon Industries acquired BWAY from Platinum Equity in August 2016 for $2.4 billion. Platinum acquired BWAY in December 2012 from Madison Dearborn Partners for $1.2 billion.

Stone Canyon invests in companies valued between $50 million and $1 billion. Sectors of interest include consumer and retail; food and ingredients; industrial; technology and business services; and transportation. The firm was founded in 2014 and is led by Co-CEOs James Fordyce and Adam Cohn and is headquartered in Santa Monica (www.stonecanyonllc.com).

KODA Enterprises Group invests in manufacturing, distribution and consumer products companies that have from $20 million to $100 million in revenues and $2 million to $10 million in EBITDA. Sectors of specific interest include building products and services; chemicals; industrial distribution and services; metals; paper and packaging; and rubber and plastics. KODA was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Waltham, MA (www.koda.com).

New York-based investment bank Sperry, Mitchell & Company (www.sperrymitchell.com) was the exclusive financial advisor to KLW Plastics.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 9-16-16