Displaying items by tag: Blackford Capital

GRAND RAPIDS — Following careers in investment banking and family offices, two West Michigan professionals have struck out on their own. 

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for May 1, 2017. 

• M&A: Kalamazoo-based Stryker Corp. acquired the assets of Charleston, S.C.-based Cactus LLC, a manufacturer of pharmaceutical waste management systems, according to a statement. Cactus products have been sold in the U.S. since 2012 and have been installed in more than 1,300 facilities. The products will become part of Stryker’s Surgical Safety business, a division of Stryker Surgical Instruments. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

GRAND RAPIDS — Blackford Capital has entered the baking business.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for April 3, 2017.

• M&A: Industrial and fastener distributor Manufacturer’s Supply Co. has signed an agreement to sell certain assets to Winona, Minn.-based Fastenal Co. (Nasdaq: FAST). Fastenal expected to close on the deal for Manufacturer’s Supply, or Mansco, at the end of March, after this report went to press. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hudsonville-based Mansco generated roughly $50 million in sales in 2016 from locations in Michigan, Alabama and Texas. It was founded in 1928. President Jim Mol has operated Mansco for the last 25 years. Mansco supplies a range of fastener products “with a particularly strong market position with commercial furniture OEMs,” a market to which Fastenal “has not meaningfully contributed in the past.”

Blackford Capital has entered the hotel business through a new acquisition under its National Growth Practice.

A mix of economic optimism and the availability of capital should yield another strong year for acquisitions in 2017.

zHere is the MiBiz Growth Report for Jan. 9, 2017. 

• M&A: Grand Rapids-based Irwin Seating Co. signed a letter of intent to purchase American Seating Co.’s architectural fixed seating business in a deal expected to close in March 2017, pending due diligence. The business includes products for stadiums, auditoriums and other large venues. The company’s move to divest a “higher profile part of our business was an extremely difficult decision to make,” Chairman and CEO Ed Clark said in a statement announcing the transaction. The sale comes as American Seating seeks “to optimize its operations and resources in order to pursue significant growth opportunities” in its transportation seating business, where the company will continue to focus. American Seating intends to lay off 80 workers early this year as a result of the deal. However, a portion of that workforce may transition into roles at Irwin Seating, according to the statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Martin Stein, founder and managing director of Grand Rapids-based private equity firm Blackford Capital, was named Private Equity Professional of the Year in the 15th Annual M&A Advisor Awards.

As waves of baby boomers continue to reach retirement age, many have faced the prospect of selling the manufacturing companies they’ve built over the years. 

Martin Stein always noticed Grand Equipment Co. alongside I-196 when he drove through Hudsonville.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Oct. 17, 2016: 
• M&A: Grand Rapids-based Ranir LLC, a manufacturer of a variety of oral care products, has acquired Toronto-based BrushPoint, a maker of toothbrushes. In the deal, for which terms were not disclosed, Ranir will increase its product offerings and distribution footprint in the U.S., Canada and Europe. The BrushPoint acquisition comes on the heels of a deal in July of this year in which Ranir purchased the Rembrandt teeth-whitening brand from Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. Last month, the company also said it had purchased the 200,000-square-foot facility at 4701 East Paris Ave. SE where it had been a tenant for 20 years.

GRAND RAPIDS — After purposely avoiding deals in the automotive industry, private equity firm Blackford Capital has shifted its strategy with the acquisition of a Southeast Michigan supplier.  

Grand Transformers Inc. in Grand Haven acquired Warner, N.H.-based Warner Power, a designer and manufacturer of electrical transformers and power systems.

Quality Aluminum Products Inc. — a maker of siding, gutters, roof edging and other exterior products for the residential housing industry — became the seventh portfolio company for the Grand Rapids-based Blackford Capital’s Michigan Prosperity Fund.

If you want to sell your business this year, you still have a pretty good chance of cutting a favorable deal as the seller’s market continues.

Blackford Capital plans to spend 2016 raising money for a new private equity fund that will seek to build off the success of its first fund and invest in Michigan-based companies.