M&A Deal Summary

Graham Partners and Stellus Capital Management Acquire ABX

On August 15, 2018, private equity firms Graham Partners and Stellus Capital Management acquired packaging company ABX

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Graham Partners’ 3rd and Stellus Capital Management’s 1st transaction in the Packaging sector.
  • This is Graham Partners’ 39th and Stellus Capital Management’s 8th transaction in the United States.
  • This is Graham Partners’ 2nd and Stellus Capital Management’s 1st transaction in North Carolina.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2018-08-15
Target ABX
Sector Packaging
Buyer(s) Graham Partners
Stellus Capital Management
Deal Type Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI)

Target

ABX

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
ABX is a flexible packaging manufacturer of high barrier forming web films primarily for the North American protein, cheese, and specialty food end markets. ABX’s multi-layer cast films require a high level of manufacturing complexity and are critical for shelf life extension, spoilage reduction, and food safety. ABX was founded in 2005 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Buyer(S) 2

Buyer

Graham Partners

Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1988
PE ASSETS 6.8B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Graham Partners is a private equity that targets middle market industrial and manufacturing companies. The Firm seeks to invest in businesses based in the US and also consider investments in Canada and Western Europe. Graham Partners focuses on strong growth potential companies with high return on invested capital, led by experienced management teams in revenues between $30 - $500 million and EBITDA between $5 million and $50 million. The firm typically invests between $10 million and $100 million in equity and the balance via debt and can invest higher than $100 million through co-investments. Broad areas of interest include building products, water management, medical products, consumer products, packaged food & beverage, packaging, aerospace/defense, agriculture, capital equipment, energy related products, home and outdoor, sports and leisure, and transportation services. Prospective transaction types include MBOs, recapitalization and growth capital financing. Graham Partners is an affiliate of The Graham Group was formed in 1988 and is based in Newton Square, Pennsylvania.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 41 of 60
Sector: Packaging M&A 3 of 3
Type: Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI) M&A Deals 21 of 32
State: North Carolina M&A 2 of 2
Country: United States M&A 39 of 52
Year: 2018 M&A 3 of 4
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2018-07-18 Medbio

Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States

Medbio is an outsource manufacturer specializing in clean room injection molding of plastic components for medical and biotechnology devices, as well as mold tooling, device assembly, and packaging. The company manufactures single use, disposable products for high growth end markets and is differentiated by its ability to serve as a one-stop-shop for outsourced manufacturing. Medbio’s niche position has resulted in longstanding customer relationships in an industry that is benefiting from multiple conversion tailwinds and attractive macro healthcare trends. Medbio was founded in 2007 and is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2018-10-09 Atlas

Wichita, Kansas, United States

Atlas manufactures flight-critical, complex assemblies on a diverse group of commercial, military and business aircraft, including the 737MAX, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Gulfstream G650, and nearly every Textron Aviation aircraft. Atlas has developed a unique set of machining, specialty forming and chemical processing capabilities, supported by automation technology and low-cost manufacturing. This vertical integration allows Atlas to deliver a broad range of complex aircraft assemblies, including complete aircraft doors, escape hatches, wing structures, and flight control assemblies for a growing list of leading aerospace OEMs. Atlas was founded in 2007 and is based in Wichita, Kansas.

Sell -
Buyer

Stellus Capital Management

Houston, Texas, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 2004
PE ASSETS 3.4B USD
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Stellus Capital Management is a provider of debt and equity capital to middle-market companies headquartered throughout the US and Canada. For credit commitments, Stellus looks to provide $10 to $50 million of capital to help support buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalization, growth opportunities, rescue financing, distressed situations, as well as bridge loans. Sectors' of interest for Stellus' credit practice includes business services, energy, general industrial, government, healthcare, software and specialty finance. Stellus' equity practice seeks to provide $20 to $100 million to small and mid-sized energy (upstream, oilfield services, midstream) companies. Stellus Capital was originally formed in 2004 as Laminar Direct Capital and operated as the direct investing unit of D.E. Shaw. The Group became independent in 2012. Stellus has offices in Houston, New York City, and Washington DC.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 8 of 86
Sector: Packaging M&A 1 of 1
Type: Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI) M&A Deals 3 of 23
State: North Carolina M&A 1 of 4
Country: United States M&A 8 of 83
Year: 2018 M&A 2 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2018-04-25 DTE

Addison, Illinois, United States

DTE provides powertrain and transmission repair and maintenance services for customers in the energy, industrial and mining end markets. DTE repairs all major OEM platforms, including Allison, Caterpillar and Twin Disc. The company operates nine service centers covering all major U.S. shale basins and mining regions and manages an inventory of company-owned and customer-provided powertrains and transmissions. DTE was founded in 1975 and is based in Addison, Illinois.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2018-10-22 Premiere Digital Services

Los Angeles, California, United States

Premiere Digital Services is a provider in cloud-based digital asset delivery and content optimization solutions for clients in the Media & Entertainment industry. Premiere Digital offers services that enable content ingestion, preparation, management, and delivery/distribution of media assets to all digital platforms, including the latest workflows in UHD and HDR for video, audio, image, closed caption or subtitle files. Premiere Digital Services was founded in 2008 and is based in Los Angeles, California.

Buy -