Mergers & Acquisitions
MillerCoors division acquires cider company
Tenth and Blake Beer Company, craft-and-import division of MillerCoors, has acquired Crispin Cider Company, giving it a significant presence in the beer industry’s fastest-growing category.
Minneapolis-based Crispin sold its first cases on St. Crispin’s Day, Oct. 25, 2008. The company grew approximately 200 percent in 2011, outpacing the overall cider category’s 26 percent growth during the same period, and is already the No. 3 producer of cider in the United States.
"Our vision is to accelerate our portfolio expansion within the world’s most exciting beer market. With cider’s explosion in the U.S., we were looking at the best way to participate in that growth," said Tenth and Blake president and chief executive officer Tom Cardella. "As we explored the category, Crispin stood out, not only because they were the most progressive and innovative producer, but also because we shared great personal chemistry. In addition to the best cider portfolio in the business, we love their energy, creativity and unsurpassed innovation capability. They make us an even better company right away."
The Tenth and Blake family of breweries includes Blue Moon Brewing Co. at the Sandlot in Denver, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. in Chippewa Falls, Wis., 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee, AC Golden in Golden, Colorado, Birra Peroni in Rome and Pilsner Urquell in Pilsen, Czech Republic. Tenth and Blake beers include Blue Moon Belgian White, Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss, George Killian’s Irish Red, Batch 19, Henry Weinhard’s IPA, Colorado Native, Pilsner Urquell, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Grolsch.
The new deal includes Crispin’s affiliate, Fox Barrel Cider Company.
"We’re thrilled to be part of the Tenth and Blake family," said Joe Heron, Crispin’s CEO. "We’ve always had very ambitious plans, and we’re proud of what we’re achieving with great products and an unrivaled creativity that mirrors the inspirational American craft-beer ethos. Tenth and Blake provides us the capability to scale up at the same pace as our increasingly accelerating demand in the U.S. and beyond."
Crispin will be run as an independent division of Tenth and Blake.
"We’ll continue to create our ciders in our Colfax cidery, and we’ll maintain our own unique go-to-market execution," Heron said.
Regal Beloit acquires Milwaukee Gear Company
Regal Beloit Corp. announced it has acquired Milwaukee Gear Company, a manufacturer of highly engineered gearing components for oil and gas applications as well as a wide variety of other commercial and industrial applications.
The acquisition price was $80 million, subject to customary working capital adjustments, and was paid in cash.
Milwaukee Gear is expected to add approximately $60 million in revenue for the remainder of fiscal 2012. The acquisition is expected to add 3 to 6 cents to Regal Beloit’s diluted earnings per share in 2012, including the impact of purchase accounting adjustments and transaction costs, and 12 to 16 cents to diluted earnings per share in 2013. Results of operations will be reported in the Mechanical segment.
Milwaukee Gear operates a plant in Milwaukee at 150 North Port Washington Road.
"Milwaukee Gear is a very well-managed business with an excellent reputation resulting from its application engineering excellence and its high precision manufacturing processes," said Mark Gliebe, chairman and chief executive officer of Regal Beloit. "The business will be a great fit within our Mechanical segment, allowing us to offer customers a larger range of gearing solutions while diversifying our end markets.”
Additional details of the transaction will be provided during Regal Beloit’s previously announced fourth quarter and fiscal year earnings conference call on Tuesday Feb. 7 at 9 a.m. Central time.
Generac acquires Georgia manufacturer
The growth continues for Generac Holdings Inc. a Waukesha-based designer and manufacturer of generators and other engine powered products, which announced that one of its subsidiaries has acquired substantially all of the assets and certain liabilities of Gen-Tran Corp., a leading transfer switch and portable generator accessory manufacturer located in Alpharetta, Ga.
Gen-Tran’s product offering fits strategically between Generac’s existing portable generator and home standby product offering, providing a broader set of solutions for consumers and allowing the combined companies to capture additional accessory sales.
Steve Goran, vice president of business development for Generac, said, “Adding Gen-Tran products to our offering will better position our portable products as safe, reliable backup solutions while complementing our fully automatic home standby solutions. By merchandising our products together across broadened distribution channels, we believe we can capture incremental sales opportunities through a more informed consumer, further building on our position as the leader in residential backup power”
Gen-Tran president Jack Mandula will continue to manage Gen-Tran’s operations in Alpharetta. Gen-Tran’s current management team and staff have joined Generac upon closing and will help lead the integration of the company’s products and operations.
Mandula said, “As we transition under Generac’s ownership, we will continue to provide high-quality products and support to our customers. We are excited to be a part of a well-resourced company whose broad product offering and distribution channels offer tremendous opportunities for our products and customers.”
Quad/Graphics acquires Dallas printer
Quad/Graphics Inc. of Sussex has purchased Dallas-based Williamson Printing Corp., a full-service commercial and specialty products printer specializing in short- to medium-run catalogs, case-bound books, direct mail and other promotional products.
The acquisition expands the Quad/Graphics’ growing U.S. network of commercial and specialty print facilities to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, home to one of the largest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the United States.
“Williamson is an exceptional printing company with a long list of regional and national clients,” said Joel Quadracci, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Quad/Graphics. “It has a superior reputation for quality, service and innovation, and its experience and success in growing its commercial and specialty printing business will complement our own growth plans for that segment.”
Williamson’s two Dallas facilities will join Quad/Graphics’ Commercial & Specialty group, which also operates facilities in Burlington, Menomonee Falls and New Berlin, Wis.; Enfield, Conn.; and Leominster, Mass. The group provides publishers, marketers and retailers with specialized print products and services, including specialty books, catalogs and directories; marketing collateral; print-on-demand custom publications; specialty binding; and mailing and fulfillment.
Craig Faust, president of Quad/Graphics’ Commercial & Specialty group, said Williamson is part of an ongoing plan to grow commercial and specialty printing services: “Through strategic investments in technology and capabilities, we’re building a more complete, innovative and cost-effective platform for our clients while maintaining the high level of personal interaction and service they expect.”
Jesse Williamson, president of Williamson Printing, said Quad/Graphics’ financial strength and stability plus a mutual commitment to innovation and service excellence will produce a winning combination.
“We’re both innovative printers at heart, and we’re passionate about print’s crucial role in today’s multimedia landscape. The combined QuadWilliamson brand will create more value and more solutions for more clients,” said Williamson, who will continue in his leadership role with QuadWilliamson. His brother, Jerry Williamson, chairman and CEO of Williamson Printing, will serve as an advisor before retiring in the near future.
River Run Computers acquires TechQuility
Glendale-based River Run Computers Inc. announced it has purchased TechQuility, an IT firm in Mequon.
The acquisition expands River Run’s abilities to provide service for small businesses, improve market share and increase sales channels.
The TechQuility acquisition adds engineering resources and improves advanced remote monitoring services for its customers. Tim Ward, founder and chief executive officer for TechQuility, brings leadership and sales expertise for IT strategic planning, networking management and metric reporting to River Run.
The new group will provide on-site network management to small- and medium-sized businesses that require technology to manage and grow their businesses.
“The River Run acquisition will provide TechQuility clients more in-depth technical resources,” Ward said. “Help-desk support services, available 24/7, are something our clients will now be able to enjoy.”
River Run Computers has experienced growth on the IT on-site management services side of its business and continues to invest in business operations.
“Small- and medium-sized businesses need cost-effective, flexible service solutions to keep their networks up and running,” said Paul Riedl Jr., CEO of River Run Computers. “Tim Ward and his team from TechQuility bring over 20 years of certified networking experience, and we are excited to add them and their clients to our service organization.
Menasha Packaging acquires Chicago company
Menasha Packaging Company LLC has acquired The Strive Group of Chicago.
Both companies are family-owned and privately held. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
According to Mike Waite, president of Menasha Packaging, “The acquisition of Strive will enhance our merchandising supply chain model and strengthen our geographic coverage. Customers are increasingly turning to companies that can manage their entire merchandising process and the addition of Strive to Menasha Packaging will improve our offerings and strengthen our competitive position.”
The acquisition makes Menasha the largest independent in-store promotional solutions provider to retailers and CPGs in the United States.
“The Strive acquisition broadens our market penetration and the ability to provide more products and services to our customers,” said Jim Kotek, president and chief executive officer of Menasha Corp. “We believe there is an excellent strategic fit between the companies; we both are Midwest-based, family-owned companies with strong cultures and values.”
Menasha Corp. is the parent of Menasha Packaging, ORBIS Corp. and LeveragePoint Media.
Both Menasha Packaging and Strive focus on the food, household and personal care markets and provide significant design, manufacturing, fulfillment and logistics expertise to their customers.
Neenah Paper acquires Wausau division
Neenah Paper announced it has purchased the branded premium paper portion of Wausau’s Fine Paper division.
"The acquisition of Wausau brands strengthens the breadth of our existing Fine Paper business with added scale in the marketplace, prospects for growth in new channels such as retail, and the opportunity to provide our customers with better service," said Julie Schertell, president of Neenah Fine Paper. "Astrobrights is the market leading brand in the bright, vivid color segment of our market. We are excited to add this strong brand to our portfolio, as well as the complimentary textures in the Royal brand family. I’m very pleased with our customers’ responses following our initial announcement, as well as the support we have received from the Wausau organization throughout the initial transition phase. As of today, we are taking orders on our new brands and we’re well-positioned for a smooth transition with our customers."
Neenah’s primary focus in the coming months will be the effort to integrate the acquired division.
Neenah Paper is headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga., and operates a plant in Neenah, Wis.
