Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC ("CHS")
announced today that Waddington North America, Inc. (“WNA”),
a portfolio investment of Code Hennessy & Simmons IV
LP, a $1.0 billion investment fund formed in 1999, has merged
with Polar Plastics, Ltd. (“Polar”) to create
the leading North American designer, manufacturer and marketer
of premium rigid plastic foodservice disposables producing
a broad range of single-serve products for the foodservice
industry, including tableware, drinkware, servingware and
cutlery. The company’s primary customers are foodservice
distributors, restaurant chains and retailers.
The merger
combines two market leaders in the premium rigid plastics
food service disposables industry, WNA in the United
States and Polar in Canada. WNA and Polar each have more
than a 30 year history of leadership in their respective
markets. Earlier this year, WNA appointed Polar as its exclusive
Canadian sales agent for stock products bringing a broader “one-stop-shop” offering
to the Canadian market through Polar’s well-established
distribution network. The combination extends the companies’ existing
relationship, offering an improved footprint that better
reflects the geographic spread of many of WNA’s and
Polar’s key customers.
Mike Evans, CEO of WNA, said, “The
combination of WNA and Polar results in strong competitive
positions in multiple
product categories, the broadest premium product offering
in the industry and a diversified customer base with numerous,
stable long-term relationships. Our platform is extremely
well-positioned to pursue numerous organic growth opportunities
and to provide superior customer service to our U.S. and
Canadian customers. I look forward to working with the energetic
and talented Polar team and I appreciate the continued support
of CHS and WNA’s lenders, whose involvement was critical
to effecting this combination.”
Dan
Hennessy, Partner at CHS, said, “I applaud the
vision and leadership of Mike Evans, the WNA management team
and the Polar management team, all of whom share a commitment
to realize the numerous strategic benefits of the WNA-Polar
combination. CHS is actively seeking add-on acquisitions
for WNA and will continue to support the company’s
growth plans in all of WNA's served markets.”
CHS is a Chicago-based private equity firm
specializing in private equity investments and recapitalizations
of middle
market companies in partnership with management. CHS has
formed five private equity funds and currently manages over
$2.5 billion of capital. For more information on WNA, please refer to the company’s
Web site at www.wna-inc.com. For more information on Polar,
please refer to the company’s Web site at www.polarplastic.ca. |