Industry Update: Restaurant Update: Spotlight on Fast Casual – September, 2016

September 2016.

For announced transactions, restaurant multiples saw a modest increase from 10.1x EBITDA and 0.86x revenue in 2014 to 10.1x EBITDA and 1.03x revenue in 2015.

Recent notable publicly announced M&A transactions:

– BDT Capital Partners made a significant investment in Lou Malnati’s for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to close in early October.

-Roark Capital Group acquired majority stake in Jimmy John’s Franchise, LLC for an undisclosed amount.

-The Arlon Group acquired Cicis for an undisclosed amount.

-CenterOak Partners LLC acquired an unknown majority stake in Wetzel’s Pretzels, LLC for an undisclosed amount.

-MTY Food Group Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Kahala Corp. for approximately $300 million.

-Cotton Parent, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. for approximately $1.3 billion.

-Brinker International, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Pepper Dining, Inc. for approximately $106 million.

-Peakstone advises PepperJax Grill on sale of company to TA Associates for an undisclosed amount.

Nicholas Patrick joins The Peakstone Group as Managing Director

August, 2016. Nicholas Patrick joins The Peakstone Group as Managing Director, where he is responsible for transaction origination and execution. Prior to joining Peakstone, Nicholas spent nine years at Citadel, a hedge fund with more than $25 billion under management. Most recently, he was the Director of Operations and responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Citadel Global Equities Business Unit. Nicholas led strategic and tactical projects, business analysis and reporting initiatives, relationship management, investor support and financial planning. Prior to joining Citadel, Nicholas spent several years at Lake Capital, a private equity firm with more than $1.3 billion under management. At Lake Capital, he sourced and evaluated investment opportunities and executed add-on acquisition strategies and worked with management teams on initiatives that improved operations.

Prior to Lake Capital, Nicholas worked in investment banking at Lehman Brothers, executing M&A and capital raising engagements in a range of industries.

He is also currently an advisory board member for Review Trackers, an enterprise-level review monitoring and reputation management software platform. Nicholas received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University and his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in Corporate Finance and Entrepreneurship.

About Peakstone

The Peakstone Group is a leading investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising for middle market clients. Our team is comprised of senior investment banking professionals who have decades of experience and have executed hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars. For additional information, visit www.peakstone.com or contact Carolyn Henson, chenson@peakstone.com or 312-204-7300.

Closed Deal Announcement – Peakstone Advises UPF Services on Sale to Chronos Solutions

August, 2016. Peakstone served as exclusive M&A advisor to UPF Services on its sale to Chronos Solutions. UPF Services is a Spokane Valley, Washington-based provider of process-driven services and technology solutions for the real estate and mortgage industries. Acquiring UPF Services was highly strategic for Chronos. UPF Services’ offerings – document preparation and recording, lien release, flood hazard compliance and tax monitoring services – complete Chronos Solutions’ suite of loan origination solutions. Chronos Solutions customers will now be able to order these services on a standalone basis or in conjunction with Chronos Solutions’ existing service offerings.

“Offering integrated services provides our clients with a huge advantage, enabling them to enhance efficiencies, reduce operational expenses, minimize risk and improve the overall customer experience,” said Chronos Solutions CEO Matt Martin. “Now that we are the only ‘one-stop shop’ in the country, we are uniquely able to offer these synergies to our clients.”

UPF CEO Mark Hikel will serve as Chrono Solutions’ President of Outsourced and Origination Solutions. “UPF is excited to join the Chronos Solutions family,” noted UPF Services CEO Mark Hikel, “It’s an important step for us to be part of creating a single company that can manage the entire ‘tracking’ process for the mortgage industry, with flood, tax, insurance and HOA. To our knowledge, we are the only firm in the country with this broad capability.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For additional information about this transaction, contact:
Stephen Sleigh, Managing Director, 312-346-7318, ssleigh@peakstone.com

About Peakstone

The Peakstone Group is a leading investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising for middle market clients.  Our team is comprised of senior investment banking professionals who have decades of experience and have executed hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars.  For additional information, visit www.peakstone.com.

Closed Deal Announcement – Peakstone Advises Rosenberg on Strategic Partnership with ADG

 

 

Closed Deal Announcement – Peakstone Advises PepperJax Grill on Sale Transaction

December, 2016. Peakstone served as exclusive M&A advisor to PepperJax Development Company (“PepperJax” or the “Company”) in connection with its sale to TA Associates.  Peakstone also advised the Company on the acquisition of its franchisees and assisted in negotiating and structuring critical contracts and leases associated with the transaction.

PepperJax is a rapidly growing fast-casual restaurant offering “America’s Best Philly” and other made-to-order, customizable sandwiches and flavorful entrees.  PepperJax currently operates 40 company-owned locations throughout the Midwest.

“It was a gut-wrenching decision to select an M&A advisor.  I had been approached by some potential buyers and wasn’t sure if I needed an Advisor.  I ultimately picked Peakstone because of their restaurant expertise and the hustle and thoughtfulness they demonstrated.  I had high expectations, and in this deal Peakstone blew them away. They executed on a successful strategy to find the right partner that shares our strategic vision for PepperJax and can help drive continued growth for the business.  They were very thoughtful in how they positioned the business to buyers, managed the sale process and negotiated a number of important terms in the transaction.  Their expertise, daily commitment, and creativity were essential to getting a great deal done,” said Gary Rohwer, founder of PepperJax.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For additional information about Peakstone’s restaurant practice or information about this transaction, contact:

Alex Fridman, Managing Director, 312-346-7303, alex@peakstone.com
Jeff Temple, Managing Director, 312-346-7301, jtemple@peakstone.com


About Peakstone

Peakstone is a leading investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising for middle market clients.  Our team is comprised of senior investment banking professionals who have decades of experience and have executed hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars.  For additional information, visit www.peakstone.com.

Closed Deal Announcement – Peakstone Advises H A Logistics on the sale of its H A Advantage division to AFN

July, 2016. H A Logistics has sold its H A Advantage division based in Columbus, Ohio to AFN.

H A Advantage provides a proprietary transportation management system and a LTL optimization capability.  AFN is a third party logistics service provider based in Niles, Illinois. The acquisition of H A Advantage will provide AFN the ability to offer greater value to their customers through technology and efficiency.

“Peakstone was instrumental in creating a competitive process, finding a strong buyer and then structuring an excellent deal with them,” Alan Huttmann, the owner of H A Logistics said at the conclusion of the transaction.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For additional information about this transaction, contact:
Tom Juedes, Managing Director, 847-682-3388, tjuedes@peakstone.com
Steve Royko, Managing Director, 608-236-4490,  sroyko@peakstone.com

About Peakstone

The Peakstone Group is a leading investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising for middle market clients.  Our team is comprised of senior investment banking professionals who have decades of experience and have executed hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars.  For additional information, visit www.peakstone.com.

Closed Deal Announcement – Peakstone Advises CYLX on Sale to Bison Group LLC

 

 

Industry Update: Packaging Industry M&A Update – July, 2016

July, 2016.

Packaging M&A continues to see steady activity. Year-to-date 2016 transaction volume of 32 deals is just below pace of 2015 levels.

For the year-to-date 2016 period, strategic buyers accounted for 91% of the packaging M&A transactions with financial buyers making up the difference. During 2015, strategic buyers accounted for approximately 81% of the transactions.

Peakstone equally weighted packaging index continues to trend with the S&P 500.

Notable publicly announced 2015 and 2016 transactions:

‒ Stone Canyon Industries announced it will acquire BWAY Parent Company for $2.4 billion in June 2016.

‒ WestRock Company acquired SP Fiber for approximately $290 million.

‒ KapStone acquired Victory Packaging for $640 million.

‒ Jarden Corp. acquired WNA for approximately $1.4 billion.

‒ WestRock Company acquired MeadWestvaco Corporation for approximately $11.6 billion.

Industry Update: Consumer & Retail Industry M&A Update – June, 2016

June, 2016.

For year-to-date 2016, strategic buyers accounted for 92% of Consumer & Retail M&A transactions

– During 2015, strategic buyers accounted for 87% of the transaction

For reported closed transactions, Consumer & Retail transaction multiples have ranged between 8x and 12x since 2010

Select recent notable publicly announced M&A transactions:

– Samsonite International entered into a merger agreement to acquire Tumi Holdings, Inc. for approximately $1.8 billion

– JAB Beech entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. for $1.3 billion

– SBE Entertainment Group, LLC entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Morgans Hotel Group Co. for approximately $790 million

– GP Investments Acquisitions Corp. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire WKI Holding Company, Inc. for approximately $500 million

– Hunter Douglas entered into a definitive agreement to acquire window coverings business from Rubbermaid, Inc. for approximately $270 million

– DS Healthcare Group, Inc. entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire WR Group, Inc. for approximately $42 million

Notable IPO’s include US Foods Holdings, MGM Growth Properties, Atkore International Group and Paragon Commercial Corp.

Industry Update: Business Services Industry M&A Update – June, 2016

June, 2016.

For YTD 2016, strategic buyers accounted for 91% of Business Services M&A transactions. During 2015, strategic buyers accounted for 94% of the transactions.

Many Business Services categories continue to outperform the S&P 500.

Notable publicly announced 2016 M&A transactions:

– Envision Healthcare Holdings, Inc. signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire AmSurg Corp. for approximately $7.6 billion.

– Thoma Bravo, LLC entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Qlik Technologies, Inc. for approximately $2.9 billion.

– Platinum Equity, LLC signed a definitive agreement to acquire Electro Rent Corporation for approximately $320 million.

– Vista Equity Partners Fund VI, L.P. entered into an agreement to acquire Marketo, Inc. for approximately $1.7 billion.

– Quintiles Transnational Holdings Inc. signed an agreement to acquire IMS Health Holdings, Inc. for approximately $8.8 billion.

– Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ExamWorks Group, Inc. for approximately $2.0 billion.