Icv Capital Partners Acquires Leading Pharmaceutical Packaging Company
NEW YORK, May 24, 2004 ICV Capital Partners, a New York private-equity investment firm, announced today it had acquired a majority interest in Innovative Folding Carton Company, a leading provider of custom packaging to the generic and over-the-counter drug industry. The investment gives ICV a presence in the growing pharmaceutical packaging industry. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The 21st Century Group, a Dallas private-equity firm, also provided equity for the acquisition, as did the company’s top management.
Innovative, based in South Plainfield, New Jersey, provides high quality folded carton packaging for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, as well as for makers of food supplements and vitamins. The company was founded in 1984 and has approximately 200 employees.
Innovative has established a profitable niche by focusing on private-label and generic drug companies that need short production runs and have frequent packaging changes. It reported revenues last year of more than $37 million.
“Innovative Folding Carton Company has a profitable business model and has targeted markets with outstanding growth prospects,” said Willie Woods, ICV managing director. “The company is well-positioned to take advantage of that growth.”
“We were also attracted by Innovative’s strong, sales-oriented management team, which we are proud to back with this investment,” Woods added. He cited specifically Chief Executive Officer Shawn Smith, an experienced sales executive in the packaging industry and Chief Operating Officer Ron Crisafulli, whose career has centered on printing and packaging operations.
“Innovative has been consistently profitable over the last four years,” said Lloyd Metz, an ICV principal. “This is a direct result of its customer-service-oriented culture that sets the company apart from its competitors. We are confident that Innovative is on track to win new pharmaceutical and cosmetics business.”
“Innovative is a trusted name in the packaging industry. We look forward to partnering with ICV and management to build value,” said John Ware, 21st Century Group managing director.
Joining ICV and the 21st Century Group in the Innovative investment was Albert D. Fuller, co-founder of Integrated Packaging Corp., a New Brunswick, New Jersey, packaging company. Fuller will become an independent member of Innovative’s board and will contribute his valuable expertise to the enterprise, Woods said. “We have known Al for many years,” Woods said, “and he has demonstrated strong operational skills, as well as an ability to identify significant opportunities to create shareholder value.”
PNC Business Credit provided a revolving credit facility and senior term debt for the transaction.
Innovative had been owned by Impaxx, Inc., a consumer packaging company that is a portfolio company of Aurora Capital Group, a private-equity firm based in Los Angeles. Innovative and Impaxx were represented by Barrington Associates.
Innovative is the sixth investment for ICV Capital Partners, which raised its initial investment fund of $130.5 million in 2001. Along with AAMP of America, Innovative is the second investment in a corporate divestiture that ICV has completed. Its other portfolio companies are The Hilsinger Company, Sterling Foods, the Marshall Retail Group and Chung’s Foods. ICV focuses on making equity investments in companies with revenues between $25 million and $150 million with strong market positions and experienced management teams.
ICIC Enterprises, an affiliate of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City and American Securities Capital Partners, L.P., a New York private-equity firm, own 49 percent of ICV. More information about ICV can be found at www.icvcapital.com.
The 21st Century Group, LLC is a Dallas-based private equity fund focused on middle-market acquisitions and growth capital investments. Founded in 1998 by former Dallas City Manager John Ware and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Incorporated, the firm makes investments in basic manufacturing, distribution, business services and media enterprises. It manages approximately $80 million of institutional capital.
In March 2004, 21st Century acquired Paris Packaging, a Texas-based manufacturer of cartons and paper products for the fast food industry.