Today's Letter
Good morning all –

Hellman & Friedman has agreed to take publicly traded At Home Group private at an enterprise value of $2.8 billion. At Home is an operator of home décor superstores - which average 110,000 square feet in size - with 226 stores in 40 states. At Home was founded in 1979, filed for bankruptcy in 2004 but restructured quickly and exited bankruptcy in 2005. The company was acquired by AEA in 2011 and five years later, AEA took At Home public on the NYSE.

At Home’s latest fiscal year - which ended in January 2021 - brought revenues of $1.7 billion and an adjusted EBITDA of $358 million. If you do the math – and we did so you don’t have to – this gives you a valuation multiple of 7.8x.

If you’re in need of some mezzanine financing, take note that Audax’s private debt group – led by Kevin Magid, Rahman Vahabzadeh, and Steve Ruby - has closed its fifth fund with just over $1.8 billion in capital. According to Audax, the new fund was oversubscribed and beat its $1.5 billion target.
The big read… Butterfly Equity has closed the most eggscelent deal we have ever reported on with the buy of egg producer Pete and Gerry’s Organics. Pete and Gerry’s is a third generation family-owned company that had humble beginnings in the late 1800s as a New Hampshire dairy cattle and hen farm. Over the years the Ward family steered clear of factory farming and launched its Pete and Gerry’s Organic brand in 2003 and became the first Certified Humane egg farm in the U.S. Today, the company’s products - free from antibiotics, synthetic pesticides, and GMOs - are produced by more than 130 family farms.

And still popular… AUA Private Equity Partners has closed its oversubscribed second fund at $310 million. AUA loves to invest in the consumer products and services sector with a focus on family-owned and Hispanic-oriented businesses that have at least $5 million of EBITDA. Four platforms are already in the barn for Fund II.

Be sure to check out “Today’s Great Quote” – sponsored by background due diligence specialist 1st West - with words of wisdom from retired Rear Admiral Marsha Evans.

Have a great day everyone.

Best – John

John P. McNulty
Publisher
Private Equity Professional
Questions, comments, complaints? Call me at 847-868-8807 or email me at John@peprofessional.com.
May 11, 2021 | Year 14 | Volume 5 | Issue 4
Hellman & Friedman Takes At Home Private
Publicly traded At Home Group has agreed to be acquired by Hellman & Friedman in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of $2.8 billion. At Home (NYSE: HOME) is an operator of home décor superstores with 226 stores in 40 states. The company’s stores – which average 110,000 square feet in size – offer offer more than 50,000 home products … Read More
CenterOak Rebrands Aakash Chemicals
CenterOak Partners has rebranded its portfolio company Aakash Chemicals & Dye-Stuffs (Aakash) to Vivify Specialty Ingredients. Vivify is a manufacturer and distributor of specialty colorants and other functional ingredients used in the personal care and cosmetics, food and beverage, packaging, plastics, coatings and seed treatment sectors. Today, Vivify operates… Read More
Spartech Switches Sponsors
The Jordan Company (TJC) has acquired Spartech, a manufacturer of acrylics and extruded plastics and a portfolio company of Nautic Partners. Spartech’s acrylic products, plastic sheet and rollstock, specialty film laminates, and thermoformed packaging products are used by more than 1,000 North American-based customers in a range of applications in the aerospace… Read More
Audax Private Debt Banks New $1.8 Billion
Audax Private Debt has closed Audax Mezzanine Fund V LP with just over $1.8 billion in capital commitments. According to Audax, the new fund was significantly oversubscribed and closed above its target of $1.5 billion. Limited partners in Fund V include both returning and new institutional investors in the U.S., Europe, Asia‐Pacific, and the… Read More
Blue Wolf Sells Mulch and Soil Company to CenterGate
Blue Wolf Capital Partners has sold The Mulch and Soil Company, a provider of lawn and garden products, to CenterGate Capital. The origin of The Mulch and Soil Company begins with Blue Wolf’s acquisition of Suwannee Lumber Company in 2013 and the spin-out of its Suwannee River Mulch division in 2015 as a separate… Read More
Key Concepts in Calculating Purchase Price Adjustments 
SRS Acquiom unpacks key concepts related to the PPA mechanism, potential obstacles, and deferred revenue calculations. 
AUA Beats Fund II Target
AUA Private Equity Partners has held a final and oversubscribed closing of AUA Private Equity Fund II LP with total capital commitments of $310 million. AUA’s new fund beat its initial target of $300 million and its new and existing limited partners include pension funds, foundations, family offices, fund of funds, and high net worth individuals… Read More
Infrastructure-Focused Warren Equity Closes New Fund
Warren Equity Partners has closed its third fund, Warren Equity Partners Fund III LP, with $673 million of capital. The new fund, and its side car fund (together Fund III), were oversubscribed, above target, and closed at its hard cap after just two months of fundraising. Limited partners in Fund III include both new and returning investors… Read More
Butterfly’s Latest Buy is Eggscelent
Butterfly Equity has acquired Pete and Gerry’s Organics, a producer of free-range and pasture-raised eggs. Pete and Gerry’s dates to the late 1800’s when it operated as a dairy cattle and hen farm founded by the Ward family. Two generations later, Carol Ward, Gerry Laflamme, and Peter Stanton created the Pete and Gerry’s brand to sell… Read More
Rest of 2021 to See More Deals, Higher Prices
According to the latest report from BDO, private equity and venture capital fund managers are expecting the rest of 2021 to be awash with M&A activity and heavy competition. The just-published Private Capital Pulse Survey from BDO reports that more than 90% of its survey respondents believe asset prices will increase in the next… Read More
Bestop Buys Caliper Maker
Bestop, a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, has acquired Marshall Genuine Products (MGP). MGP manufactures caliper covers that are used by automotive enthusiasts to keep wheels clean from brake pad dust by redirecting the dust toward the rear of the vehicle. MGP was founded in 2008 by Mike Barland and is headquartered near San Diego… Read More
New Fund for New State
New State Capital Partners has closed its third institutional investment fund, New State Capital Partners Fund III LP (Fund III), with $450 million of committed capital. New State’s newest fund was over-subscribed and closed at its hard cap after just four months of fundraising. Limited partners in Fund III include public and private pension funds, consultants… Read More
Ridgemont Expands Munch’s Supply
Munch’s Supply, a portfolio company of Ridgemont Equity Partners, has acquired API of New Hampshire and Delta T Distributors (together API).
API is a distributor of heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), hydronic, and geothermal equipment used in both residential and commercial applications. API distributes numerous… Read More
Northlane Beats Target
Middle market private equity firm Northlane Capital Partners has held an above target close of Northlane Capital Partners II LP (NCP II) with total capital commitments of $408 million. Northlane invests in companies that have EBITDA of $5 million to $30 million and are active in the healthcare and business services sectors. The Bethesda, Maryland-based firm was formed… Read More
Arcline Acquires Electric Grid Platform from IGP
Industrial Growth Partners (IGP) has sold Electric Power Systems International (EPS) and North American Substation Services (NASS) (together EPS-NASS) to Arcline Investment Management. As part of its transaction with Arcline, IGP has reinvested in EPS-NASS and maintains a minority equity position. EPS-NASS is a provider of outsourced electrical… Read More
Gridiron’s GSM Takes Aim at New Brands
Good Sportsman Marketing Outdoors (GSM Outdoors), a portfolio company of Gridiron Capital, has acquired Plano Synergy’s hunting accessories and archery brands from Pure Fishing, a portfolio company of Sycamore Partners since 2019. On March 15, 2021, Pure Fishing agreed to acquire Plano Synergy, a portfolio company of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and… Read More
Today's Great Quote

“You can have unbelievable intelligence, you can have connections, you can have opportunities fall out of the sky. But in the end, hard work is the true, enduring characteristic of successful people.”

Rear Admiral Marsha Evans, USN, Retired
Private Equity Professional has been serving the private equity industry since 2007 and is published by Sun Business Media, LLC. Questions or comments? Email our publisher John McNulty at John@peprofessional.com.