Peakstone Advises Flexo Converters on Its Sale to Novolex, a Carlyle Group Portfolio Company

May 2021. Novolex®, an industry leader in packaging choice, innovation and sustainability, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the business of Flexo Converters USA, Inc. and certain of its affiliates. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. Peakstone was exclusive financial advisor to Flexo on this transaction.

Flexo, a family-owned business headquartered in Meriden, CT, manufactures and distributes stock, custom and recycled paper bags and sacks. Flexo products will be sold under the Novolex Duro Bag® brand. The addition of Flexo products to the Duro portfolio of bags and sacks will enable Duro to immediately support customer demand through Flexo’s production capacity and proximity to customers.

Peakstone previously advised Duro Bag Company, a family-owned business headquartered in Florence, KY, on its sale to Novolex in 2014. At the time, Duro was the largest paper bag manufacturer in the United States.

“Flexo is an exciting addition to our company and we welcome the skilled and committed team to the Novolex family,” said Stan Bikulege, Chairman and CEO of Novolex. “Flexo’s strong reputation for high quality products, on-time delivery and value-added services will support us in pursuing future growth opportunities for our Duro business.”

“We are excited to join the Novolex family with its reputation of leadership and innovation in our industry, as well as its history of welcoming independent businesses and their employees to the integrated organization,” said Anik Patel, Flexo President & CEO. “Peakstone’s experienced packaging team did an excellent job navigating our family through the sale process. Their deep transaction and industry expertise enabled us to craft an ideal outcome with a world-class partner.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For additional information please contact:

Eric Dziedzic, Managing Director, 312-346-7314, eric@peakstone.com

Nick Clementi, Managing Director, 763-478-1777, nclementi@peakstone.com

Stephen Sleigh, Managing Partner, 312-771-1471, ssleigh@peakstone.com

About Novolex

Novolex develops and manufactures diverse packaging products for multiple industries in the foodservice, delivery and carryout, food processor and industrial markets that touch nearly every aspect of daily life. The Novolex family of brands provides customers with innovative food and delivery packaging and performance solutions products for their business needs today while investing in research and development to engineer more sustainable choices for the future. With more than 10,000 employee families, Novolex operates 55 manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe, including two world-class plastic film recycling centers. Novolex is a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, a leading global investment firm which acquired a majority of the company in December 2016. To learn more about Novolex, visit www.Novolex.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. To receive investment and proprietary acquisition opportunities, please register at www.peakzone.com

Peakstone Advises on Recapitalization of Kirkpatrick Dental Group (Multi-Location DSO Operator)

April 2021. Peakstone served as exclusive financial advisor to Kirkpatrick Dental Group (KDG, or the Company) in connection with Healy Capital Partners’ and Hunter Street Partners’ investment in the Company.

Founded in 2007 by Dr. Jason Kirkpatrick, Kirkpatrick Dental Group is a growing multi-location dental service organization (DSO) located in the Southeast United States.  KDG’s partnership with Healy Capital and Hunter Street allows the Company to further expand its footprint while simultaneously providing practicing dentists with liquidity and the opportunity to join a robust operating platform.

“We are excited by the partnership with Healy Capital and Hunter Street, which will allow KDG to realize its vision of growth in the southeast and beyond. Mike Healy’s track record with physician practices speaks for itself and I look forward to working with him closely,” said Dr. Jason Kirkpatrick.

“Peakstone’s commitment to not only find a partner, but the right partner, and to commit the resources and expertise to do so in a challenging market was critical to completing this transaction,” said Dr. Kirkpatrick.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For additional information please contact:

Jeff Milkie, Managing Director, 972-653-2944, jmilkie@peakstone.com

Christian Colucci, Managing Director, 312-346-7349, christian@peakstone.com

Alex Fridman, Managing Partner, 312-346-7303, alex@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. To receive investment and proprietary acquisition opportunities, please register at www.peakzone.com

Update: Packaging M&A Update – March, 2021

March, 2021

For 2020 YTD, strategic buyers accounted for 85% of Packaging M&A transactions. During 2019, strategic buyers accounted for 90% of the transactions.

Select recent notable publicly announced M&A transactions:

– Essentra closed its acquisition of 3C Packaging for $65 million.

– Graphic Packaging International closed its acquisition of the Consumer Packaging Group Business of Greif for $85 million.

– Cascades closed its acquisition of Greenpac Mill for $90 million.

– Case Paper Company announced its acquisition of API Americas for $6 million.

– TriMas Corporation closed its acquisition of Rapak for $11 million.

Update: Infrastructure M&A Update – March, 2021

March, 2021

Select recent notable publicly announced M&A transactions:

– Aurora Capital Partners acquired Petroleum Services Corporation for $335 million.

– Brookhaven Capital Partners acquired Pioneer Railcorp for $72 million.

– IFM Investors acquired Buckeye Partners for $10.5 billion.

– DP World acquired Fraser Surrey Docks. Terms were not disclosed.

– MPLX acquired Andeavor Logistics for $3.3 billion.

– Macquarie acquired Long Beach Container Terminal for $1.8 billion.

– J.P. Morgan Asset Management acquired a stake in Nieuport Aviation Infrastructure Partners GP, the owner and operator of the passenger terminal at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. Terms were not disclosed.

– Blackstone acquired Tallgrass Energy for $3.2 billion.

Update: IT Services M&A Update – March, 2021

March, 2021

For 2020 YTD, strategic buyers accounted for 86% of IT Services M&A transactions. During 2019, strategic buyers accounted for 90% of the transactions.

Select recent notable publicly announced M&A transactions:

– Baring Private Equity announced its acquisition of Virtusa Corporation for $2.3 billion.

– Cognizant Technology Solutions closed its acquisition of Collaborative Solutions for $395 million.

– Cognizant Technology Solutions closed its acquisition of New Signature for $305 million.

– Zip Co Limited closed its acquisition of QuadPay for $370 million.

– Sequoia Capital Operations closed its acquisition of Snowflake for $333 million.

Update: Consumer and Retail M&A Update – March, 2021

March, 2021

For 2020 YTD, strategic buyers accounted for 58% of Consumer Retail M&A transactions. During 2019, strategic buyers accounted for 59% of the transactions.

Select recent notable publicly announced M&A transactions:

– 7-Eleven announced its acquisition of Speedway for $21 billion.

– Just Eat announced its acquisition of Grubhub for $8.1 billion.

– Amazon closed its acquisition of Zoox for $1.3 billion.

– Roark Capital announced its acquisition of ServiceMaster for $1.5 billion.

– Adtalem Global Education announced its acquisition of Walden e-Learning for $1.4 billion.

Update: Technology and Software M&A Update – March, 2021

March, 2021

For 2021 YTD, strategic buyers accounted for approximately 93% of Technology M&A transactions. During 2020, strategic buyers accounted for 93% of the transactions.

Select recent notable publicly announced M&A transactions:

– Cardlytics, Inc. (NasdaqGM:CDLX) signed an agreement to acquire DOSH Holdings, Inc. for approximately $270 million on February 26, 2021.

– iHeartMedia + Entertainment, Inc. entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire Triton Digital, Inc. from The E.W. Scripps Company (NasdaqGS:SSP) for $230 million on February 16, 2021.

– Confirmit AS agreed to acquire FocusVision Worldwide, Inc. from EQT Mid Market US managed by EQT Partners AB and others for approximately $370 million on January 7, 2021.

– Social Finance, Inc. signed a definitive agreement to acquire Galileo Financial Technologies, Inc. from Mercato Partners Growth II, L.P. managed by Mercato Partners and others for $1.2 billion on April 7, 2020.

– GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Registry business of Neustar, Inc. for approximately $220 million on April 6, 2020.

Update: Food and Beverage M&A Update – March, 2021

March, 2021

For 2021 YTD, strategic buyers accounted for 89% of Food and Beverage M&A transactions. During 2019, strategic buyers accounted for 91% of the transactions.

Select recent notable publicly announced M&A transactions:

– Lindsay Goldberg LLC entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ARYZTA North America from ARYZTA AG (SWX:ARYN) for enterprise value of $850 million on March 12, 2021.

– One Rock Capital Partners, LLC and Metropoulos & Co. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Nestlé Waters North America Inc. from Nestlé S.A. (SWX:NESN) for $4.3 billion on February 16, 2021.

– Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) entered into a definitive agreement to acquire nuts business of The Kraft Heinz Company (NasdaqGS:KHC) for $3.4 billion on February 10, 2021. The purchase price is subject to customary adjustments.

– MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NasdaqGS:MGPI) entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Luxco, Inc. from lux family for approximately $500 million on January 22, 2021.

– American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) acquired an unknown stake in a Portfolio of Global Agricultural Holdings from Harvard Management Company, Inc. for $1 billion on October 8, 2020.

Peakstone Recognized as a Leading Middle Market Industrial Advisory Firm

February 2021. We are pleased to announce that Axial named Peakstone as one of Axial’s 2020 top Industrial M&A Advisors due to our successful efforts in advising and completing transactions for industrial businesses.  For the news release and additional information, please.  CLICK HERE

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.  To receive investment and proprietary acquisition opportunities, please register at www.peakzone.com.

Peakstone Recognized as Leading Middle Market Investment Bank for Q4

January 2021. We are pleased to announce that Axial named Peakstone the #3 lower middle market U.S. investment bank for Q4 2020.  Axial league tables take into account three main characteristics:  client-quality, buy-side targeting, and process effectiveness.

For the news release, please CLICK HERE.

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.  To receive investment and proprietary acquisition opportunities, please register at www.peakzone.com.