Last Year Remained Active for Middle-Market M&A Transactions In
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M&A DEALS 2018 ROUNDUP Last year remained active for middle-market M&A transactions in West Michigan. Here’s a look back at deals MiBiz covered in 2018. DEAL COVERAGE SPONSORED BY JANUARY 8 people, took over the store effective immediately. The new owners provided another exit for investors that generated returns they can n Holland-based Lakewood Fab Tech LLC was acquired by said they planned to retain General Manager Evan Godfrey and the use in future deals for life sciences startups in Michigan. Local Pewaukee, Wis.-based Venturedyne Ltd., the holding company store’s current leadership team and employees. investors included the Western Michigan University Biosciences for Holland-based Thermotron Industries, a manufacturer of envi- n Byron Center-based foam fabricator G&T Industries Inc. has Research & Commercialization Center, Armune’s largest insti- ronmental test chambers and vibration test systems. Thermotron acquired Woodbury, Tenn.-based Crane Interiors Inc., a provider tutional investor; the Michigan Investment in New Technology was Lakewood’s primary customer, supplying the firm with various of marine upholstery to boat manufacturers. The move solidifies Startups fund at the University of Michigan; Grand Angels and stainless steel components for its test chambers. The companies G&T’s plan to diversify into the marine upholstery market, accord- Grand Angels Venture Fund II; and several individual angel inves- also are located across the street from each other. ing to a statement. Crane was a customer of the company for years. tors across Southwest Michigan. n Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Franklin Electric Co. Inc. (Nasdaq: Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but G&T said it will retain n Benton Harbor-based Midwest Timer Service Inc. acquired FELE) acquired Lansing-based Valley Farms Supply Inc. for $9 all of Crane Interiors’ assets. Crane has 190 employees and will Carol Stream, Ill.-based distributor Lectro Components Inc. million. Valley Farms, which had consolidated annual sales of continue to operate out of its Woodbury location. Lectro, a distributor of electronics components, developed Core about $28 million, has three locations in Michigan and one in n Great Lakes Management Services Organization, the com- Components branded products for the building automation indus- Indiana. The company will operate as Headwater Companies, a pany formed in 2017 with private equity firm Sterling Partners’ try, including transformers, multi-voltage relay modules and power wholly owned distributor of Franklin Electric. acquisition of Grand Rapids Ophthalmology, acquired Muskegon- supplies. For Midwest Timer, acquiring Lectro Components and n Hungerford Nichols CPAs + Advisors in Grand Rapids merged based Shoreline Vision. The deal extends Great Lakes MSO’s reach bringing the Core Components manufacturing in-house got it into with Gerbel & Co. PC in St. Joseph. Robert Gerbel, who founded across West Michigan and into the lakeshore market. Shoreline a new distribution business and took up some of the idled produc- the firm in 1968, and his company’s staff have joined Hungerford Vision, founded in 1996, has six retail locations plus an eye surgery tion capacity after the loss of a key contract. Grand Rapids-based Nichols. The merger expands Hungerford center. Terms of the deal were undisclosed. Great Lakes MSO fol- M&A firm Calder Capital LLC represented Midwest Timer in the Nichols’ staff to 90 people in Grand lowed up the Shoreline Vision deal with an investment in Michigan deal. The deal was recognized as a winner in the 2018 MiBiz M&A Rapids, Greenville and St. Joseph, and Optical, a Grand Rapids-based eye care practice. Douglas Cramer, Deals of the Year Awards in the category for transactions valued “strengthens our ability to serve our cli- who founded Michigan Optical in 2006, remains with the practice at less than $25 million. ents, as well as attract new ones throughout West and Southwest as an optician and location director. Michigan,” said Tom Prince, a shareholder at Hungerford Nichols. n Grand Rapids-based SpendMend LLC, a company that pro- FEBRUARY 19 Terms of the deal were undisclosed. vides spending visibility and audit and recovery services to the n Great Lakes Scrip Center Inc., a West Michigan-based pro- n Sassy 14 LLC, a Grand Rapids-based producer and marketer of health care industry, sold a majority stake to Sheridan Capital, vider of gift cards for fundraising, was acquired by Minneapolis, products for the development of babies, was acquired by Hamco a Chicago-based private equity firm. The recapitalization and Minn.-based Bold Orange, a recently formed marketing firm. Over Inc. in Gonzales, La. Hamco, a wholly owned subsidiary of Crown investment from Sheridan Capital, which invested along with 23 years, Great Lakes Scrip Center has worked with more than Crafts Inc. (Nasdaq: CRWS), paid a preliminary price of $6.5 mil- SpendMend’s founders and managers, will support the continued 48,000 organizations to raise $680 million. The company previously lion for Kentwood-based Sassy 14’s inventory, intellectual property growth of the company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Miller, acquired The Manna Group in Palatine, Ill. and was the largest and other assets, while also assuming certain liabilities. The final Johnson, Snell & Cummiskey PLC served as the legal adviser gift card company in the nation. Local operations at Great Lakes purchase price may change after the completion of an inventory for SpendMend, which worked with Grand Rapids-based advisers Scrip, which employs about 90 people, will continue “business valuation. Hamco plans to integrate sourcing and sales for Sassy Charter Capital Partners. as usual,” said Jill Whalen, vice president for retail operations. 14’s product lines into its Gonzales facility and maintain a product n Grand Rapids-based Agility Health Inc. sold its physical ther- development office in Grand Rapids. FEBRUARY 5 apy operations in the U.S. to Tampa, Fla.-based Alliance Physical n Emeryville, Calif.-based Devon Self Storage has acquired a n Grand Rapids-based Alliance CNC Cutter Grinding Services Therapy Management LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alliance family-owned portfolio of self-storage facilities including two in Inc. was acquired by GWS Tool Group LLC of Tavares, Fla., accord- Physical Therapy Partners LLC, in a deal valued at $45 million. Holland Charter Township and another in Georgetown Township. ing to a statement. Alliance CNC is a designer and manufacturer Under terms of the deal with Alliance Physical Therapy Partners, According to a statement, the deal involved Lakewood Self Storage of tight tolerance drills, reamers and micro-tools. With the deal, a portfolio company of New York private equity firm GPB Capital Center at 257 W. Lakewood Boulevard, Felch Street Self Storage at GWS adds hole-making tool capabilities to its existing focus in Holdings LLC, $25 million from the sale will go to investment firm 12285 Felch St. near Holland and Georgetown Mini Storage at 7062 round tools, endmills and inserts. Terms of the deal were not dis- Alaris USA Inc., a unit of Canadian-based Alaris Royalty Corp. 12th Ave. in Jenison. The former owners of the portfolio were not closed, but Alliance CNC continues to operate out of its Grand that holds class B and C stock in Agility Health, a provider of out- disclosed. The deal involved 212,668 square feet of rentable space Rapids area plant with its existing management team. GWS Tool patient and on-site rehabilitation and physical therapy services. spread across 1,296 units, plus 47 stalls for recreational vehicles. Group is a vertically integrated manufacturer of engineered cutting Agility will use about $1.3 million of the proceeds from the sale Occupancy across the portfolio stands at 94 percent. Irvine, Calif.- tools for the aerospace, defense, power generation, automotive as working capital to grow Medic Holdings, an operator of 12 foot based Talonvest Capital Inc., a boutique self storage and commer- and medical industries. care clinics in Canada that it acquired in 2017. cial real estate advisory firm, helped Devon secure a $9.1 million n Grand Rapids-based Mingerink & Associates Inc., a manu- n Elk Rapids-based Burnette Foods Inc., a private-label food non-recourse loan for the West Michigan acquisitions. facturer’s representative for nationwide brands to Midwest retail- processor, has sold its maraschino cherry business to Marion, N.Y.- n Holland-based JR Automation Technologies LLC has acquired ers and distributors, was acquired by Boise, Idaho-based Impact based Seneca Foods Corp. (Nasdaq: SENEA, SENEB). The deal the automation systems business of Waverly, Iowa-based Doerfer Group, a sales and marketing agency focused on consumer pack- allows Seneca to bolster its current operations, while Burnette Corp. For JR Automation, the acquisition increases its automated aged goods, according to a statement. Mingerink was founded turns its focus to its core business, according to a statement. solutions footprint in North America, enabling the company to in 1977. Impact Group is backed by New York City private equity Terms of the deal were not disclosed. better serve its customers, according to a statement. The deal firm CI Capital Partners LLC, and has made a string of sales and n Mattawan-based MPI Research Inc. sold to rival Charles River includes Doerfer-owned operations in South Carolina, Tennessee, marketing firm acquisitions in recent months. Laboratories International Inc. of Wilmington, Mass. for $800 France, Romania, Singapore and China. Terms of the deal were n Industrial equipment manufacturer Burke Porter Group of million in cash. In a statement announcing the deal, Charles River not disclosed. Since 2015, JR Automation has been owned by Grand Rapids has acquired Sturtevant, Wis.-based Titan Inc., a Chairman and CEO James Foster said MPI’s “one-million-square- Crestview Partners, a New York-based private equity firm. maker of assembly and testing stands.