December 2014.  Peakstone serves as exclusive financial advisor to Ashford.com on recapitalization transaction with Prudential Capital Partners. Ashford.com is the leading global online retailer of fine watches and specialty jewelry, and sells thousands of products from over 70 brands in over 100 countries annually.

“Peakstone has been an important trusted advisor as we execute on our global strategy. Peakstone delivered and demonstrated unparalleled capabilities in its knowledge of e-commerce, understanding of our business and shareholder objectives as well as access to global capital partners during the process. Peakstone’s leadership and guidance enabled us to complete a transformational transaction that positions us for the next phase of our global growth. ” said Mozes Hoch, Chief Executive Officer of Ashford.com.

“From an investor’s perspective, Peakstone’s e-commerce and execution capabilities were extremely helpful to us. Their ability to get us involved and efficiently lead the due diligence and negotiation process led to a successful transaction close,” said Mark Hoffmeister, Managing Director and Principal, Prudential Capital Partners.

Peakstone has the leading middle market practice in E-Commerce and has completed numerous transactions in the sector.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For additional information about this transaction, contact:

Alex Fridman, Managing Director, 312-204-7303, afridman@peakstone.com

About The Peakstone Group

Peakstone is an investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising for middle market clients.  The Peakstone team is comprised of senior investment banking professionals who have decades of experience and have executed hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars. Please visit our website, peakstone.com.

About Prudential Capital Partners

Prudential Capital Partners is the middle-market mezzanine and structured equity business sponsored by Prudential Capital Group. Prudential Capital Group has been a leading provider of private debt, mezzanine and equity securities to companies worldwide for more than 70 years.  Managing a portfolio of $69.1 billion as of September 30, 2014, Prudential Capital offers senior debt and mezzanine capital, leveraged leases, credit tenant leases, and equipment finance to companies, worldwide.  The global regional office network has locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Newark, N.J., New York, Paris and San Francisco. For more information, visit www.prudentialcapitalgroup.com.

October 2014.  The Oak Group has entered into a strategic alliance partnership with Total Warranty Services, Inc. (“TWS”) of West Palm Beach Florida.

Founded in 1975, The Oak Group (including its related affiliates) is a leading master general agency and third-party administrator of vehicle service contracts (“VSCs”) and related ancillary products sold through automotive dealerships nationwide. Oak’s managing principals, Steve Pearl and John Peterson, are two of the most respected industry leaders in the Automotive F&I industry and pioneers in product innovation in the F&I marketplace. They have built a highly successful agency that is also a leader in reinsurance, providing customized programs for automotive dealerships.

“Peakstone’s dedicated Auto F&I practice team, led by Brad Curtis, delivered us a terrific outcome and found us a great strategic partner to extend upon our longstanding reputation as a leader and innovator in Auto F&I products and administration,” said Steve Pearl. “Peakstone developed and executed on a highly targeted strategy and led every aspect of the process in a highly efficient and discrete manner and brought us a partner in TWS that will greatly benefit Oak’s customers by bringing additional strategic resources to the Oak platform,” Pearl said. John Peterson, added, “Peakstone delivered us numerous strategic options that enabled us to select the best partner for Oak employees and stakeholders for accelerated growth. We are extremely pleased with the result and we could not have found a better partner in TWS to build upon the Oak franchise.”

Peakstone has a dedicated practice covering the Automotive Finance & Insurance industry and has completed numerous transactions in the sector.

The Peakstone Group served as exclusive financial advisor to The Oak Group in connection with this transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For additional information please contact:

Stephen Sleigh, Managing Director, 312-346-7318, ssleigh@peakstone.com

About The Peakstone Group

Peakstone is an investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising for middle market clients.  The Peakstone team is comprised of senior investment banking professionals who have decades of experience and have executed hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars. Please visit our website, peakstone.com.

September 2014.  Food Evolution has been sold to Akoya Capital Partners LLC in partnership with Balance Point Capital Partners, Plexus Capital, LLC and current management. Food Evolution, based in Chicago, IL, is a leading producer of upscale convenience foodservice products and fresh outsourced commissary solutions. The Company develops and produces a full range of upscale “grab-and-go” sandwiches, wraps, salads, and other custom food products for a wide variety of customers in the specialty grocery, airport food concessions and institutional foodservice markets.

“The Peakstone team was invaluable to the transaction process. They developed and executed on a successful strategy to find the right partner that shares our strategic vision for Food Evolution and can help drive continued growth for the business” said Bret Schultz, President of Food Evolution.

Click here to view the press release.

The Peakstone Group served as exclusive M&A advisor to Food Evolution in connection with this transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For additional information about this transaction, contact:
Eric Dziedzic, Managing Director, 312-346-7314, eric@peakstone.com
Mark Horita, Managing Director, 312-346-7308, mhorita@peakstone.com

About The Peakstone Group

Peakstone is an investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising for middle market clients.  The Peakstone team is comprised of senior investment banking professionals who have decades of experience and have executed hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars. Please visit our website, peakstone.com.

August 2014. Allstate Insulation Corporation, Allstate Insulation, LLC, State Insulation Corporation, and State Laminating Corporation, have completed the sale of its businesses to Distribution International, Inc., a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity.

Headquartered in Perth Amboy, NJ with additional locations in New York and Pennsylvania, the Allstate Companies are stocking distributors of mechanical insulation and HVAC products serving customers in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The Allstate Companies are second-generation family-owned businesses led by George Lionikis, Jr.

Distribution International, Inc. is a leading value added distributor of insulation, related specialty fabricated products, and safety supplies.  The company serves industrial, commercial and marine customers from its distribution centers across the country.

“The Peakstone team was invaluable to the sale process. They developed and executed a successful exit strategy and led every aspect of the process. The team was incredibly thoughtful and persistent in their efforts in managing a highly complex transaction involving multiple operating companies, labor union considerations as well as environmental liability issues to a successful transaction close. My family and I were very pleased with the outcome that was delivered,” said George Lionikis Jr., owner and President of The Allstate Companies.

The Peakstone Group served as exclusive financial advisor to The Allstate Companies in connection with this transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For additional information please contact:

Jeff Temple, Managing Director, 312-346-7301, jtemple@peakstone.com

Alex Fridman, Managing Partner, 312-346-7303, alex@peakstone.com

About The Peakstone Group

Peakstone is an investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising for middle market clients.  The Peakstone team is comprised of senior investment banking professionals who have decades of experience and have executed hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars. Please visit our website, peakstone.com.

July 2014. Duro Bag Manufacturing Company has been sold to Hilex Poly, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners. Duro, based in Florence, KY, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of paper bags for foodservice, grocery, wholesale-distribution and other markets. Duro produces grocery bags, handle bags, compostable paper lawn and leaf bags, and various specialty bags, including lunch bags, pharmacy bags, Freshness Paper™ bread bags, and food service bags, as well as a broad range of premium paper shopping bags for luxury retailers.

Hilex Poly, based in Hartsville, SC, is an industry leading manufacturer of flexible packaging products, ranging from bags for grocery, retail, and food service markets, to can liners and specialty films. Hilex Poly operates 15 manufacturing locations across the U.S. & Canada plus the largest closed-loop recycling facility in the U.S.

The Peakstone Group served as exclusive M&A advisor to Duro in connection with this transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For additional information about this transaction, contact:

Nick Clementi, Managing Director, 312-201-7300, nclementi@peakstone.com
Eric Dziedzic, Managing Director, 312-346-7314, eric@peakstone.com

About The Peakstone Group

Peakstone is an investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising for middle market clients.  The Peakstone team is comprised of senior investment banking professionals who have decades of experience and have executed hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars. Please visit our website, peakstone.com.

June 2014. The Peakstone Group (“Peakstone”) announced that it has served as exclusive financial advisor to artizone, Ltd. on its strategic partnership with Peapod.

artizone, founded in 2009, is an innovative e-commerce marketplace and online community that enables consumers to shop over 75 local artisans and consolidate delivery into one order. The partnership with Peapod allows shoppers to combine the best local artisan products with Peapod’s robust and competitively priced every-day selection. artizone’s proprietary cloud-based technology provides an integrated suite of applications for consumers, artisans, and backend operations.

“We selected Peakstone because they were very knowledgeable and experienced in both e-commerce and the consumer food industry. They understood our business objectives, our sophisticated technology platform, and the opportunity we have to establish ourselves as a leader in the new online grocery community”, said Alex Zeltcer, Founder and CEO of www.artizone.com.

For additional information about this transaction, contact:

Cathy Jaros, Managing Director, 312-262-7735, cjaros@peakstone.com

About The Peakstone Group

Peakstone is an investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising for middle market clients.  The Peakstone team is comprised of senior investment banking professionals who have decades of experience and have executed hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars. Please visit our website, peakstone.com.

May 2014. Digi-Data Corporation (“Digi-Data”) has completed the sale of the business to Synchronoss Technologies, Inc.

Digi-Data, based in Broomfield, Colorado, is a leading provider of cloud-based data synchronization, data back-up and data sharing solutions to individual and small business end users. Digi-Data supports hundreds of thousands of customers of several major telecom and cable service providers as a private-label technology provider of cloud data storage software.
Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNCR) is a world leader in cloud solutions and software-based activation serving communication service providers across the globe.

“The Peakstone team was invaluable to the sale process. They developed and executed on a successful sell strategy including coordinating the process from negotiating the letter of intent to signing a purchase agreement. The team was persistent in their efforts to manage the process towards the goal of a successful transaction close” said Bruce Simpson, President and CEO of Digi-Data.

The Peakstone Group served as exclusive financial advisor to Digi-Data in connection with this transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For additional information please contact:

Jeff Temple, Managing Director, 312-346-7301, jtemple@peakstone.com

About The Peakstone Group

Peakstone is an investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising for middle market clients.  The Peakstone team is comprised of senior investment banking professionals who have decades of experience and have executed hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars. Please visit our website, peakstone.com.

March 2014. The Peakstone Group is pleased to announce that Fabri-Kal has made a strategic investment in Pure Pulp.  The Peakstone Group acted as exclusive financial advisor to Pure Pulp on this transaction.

About Pure Pulp

Pure Pulp Products, Inc. (www.purepulpproducts.com) is a manufacturer of biodegradable, molded fiber and thermoforming products, using soy, wheat and annually renewable materials. Their materials are grown and manufactured in America, utilizing biomass waste as a sustainable substrate for packaging.

About Fabri-Kal

Fabri-Kal Inc. (www.fabri-kal.com) is a leading provider of plastic foodservice and custom thermoformed product solutions. As one of the largest thermoformers in North America, Fabri-Kal’s customer base includes thousands of foodservice operators and dozens of consumer product manufacturers. Headquartered in Kalamazoo, Mich., and in continuous operation since 1950, Fabri-Kal employs more than 800 people in five manufacturing, printing and warehousing facilities throughout the United States.

Terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

For additional information about this transaction, contact:
Nick Clementi, Managing Director, 312-204-7300, nclementi@peakstone.com

About The Peakstone Group

Peakstone is an investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising for middle market clients.  The Peakstone team is comprised of senior investment banking professionals who have decades of experience and have executed hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars. Please visit our website, peakstone.com.