Wind Point Partners, majority owner, and TPG Growth, minority shareholder, today announced the sale of Novolex™, a world leader in packaging choice and sustainability, to The Carlyle Group. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. The transaction is expected to close before year-end.
“This is the next big step for Novolex™ and we could not be more pleased to join The Carlyle Group,” explained Stan Bikulege, Chairman and CEO. “We are deeply grateful to Wind Point Partners and TPG Growth for their steadfast support and leadership over the last four years. We would not be where we are today without them.”
Novolex™ will retain its name and become one of the companies in the Carlyle portfolio of investments. There will be no interruption of its operations and the Novolex™ management team will remain in place.
“Novolex™ is a great company with strong market positions and long-standing customer relationships,” said Wes Bieligk, a Principal on Carlyle’s U.S. Buyout team. “We are excited to partner with Stan and the Novolex™ team to support the company’s growth initiatives.”
Of the decision to sell Novolex™ to Carlyle, Alex Washington, Managing Director, Wind Point Partners, said, “Since we acquired Novolex™ in 2012, together we have achieved our value creation plan for Novolex™ by growing revenue from $500 million to over $2.0 billion and increasing profitability through new products, conversion cost reduction, and five transformative add-on acquisitions. This has been a great partnership and we wish all involved in this transaction continued success.”
TPG Growth Partner Ransom Langford added, “Novolex™ has built a great business, and TPG Growth is thrilled to have worked alongside Stan and his management team to support the Company’s evolution.”
Equity for this investment will come from Carlyle Partners VI, a $13 billion U.S. buyout fund.
About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $169 billion of assets under management across 125 funds and 177 fund of funds vehicles as of September 30, 2016. Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Market Strategies and Investment Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,625 people in 35 offices across six continents. www.carlyle.com
About Novolex™
Novolex™ is one of North America’s leaders in packaging choice and sustainability serving retail, grocery, food service, hospitality, institutional and industrial markets. With the pending addition of Burrows’ packaging operations, the company will have 7,000 employees and 49 manufacturing plants: 47 in North America, including two world-class plastic recycling facilities, and one each in Europe and China. Headquartered in Hartsville, SC, the Company’s brands include Hilex Poly, Fortune Plastics, Novolex™ Custom Film & Bag, Duro Bag, Bagcraft, De Luxe, General Packaging, International Converter, and Heritage Bag. For more on Novolex™ and its sustainability leadership, visit www.Novolex.com.
About Wind Point Partners
Wind Point Partners, a Chicago-based private equity investment firm, partners with top caliber executives to acquire middle market businesses where it can establish a path to value creation. Since its founding in 1984, the company has over $3 billion in commitments and acquired more than 100 platform companies and 250 add-on acquisitions. www.wppartners.com
About TPG Growth
TPG Growth is the middle market and growth equity investment platform of TPG, the global private investment firm. With over $7 billion of assets under management, TPG Growth targets investments in a broad range of industries and geographies. TPG Growth has the deep sector knowledge, operational resources, and global experience to drive value creation, and help companies reach their full potential. The firm is backed by the resources of TPG, which has approximately $70 billion of assets under management. TPG Growth’s current and past investments include Airbnb, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Frank Recruitment Group, Hilex Poly, Petbarn, NorthStar Anesthesia, Schiff Nutrition, SuccessFactors, SurveyMonkey, and Uber. TPG Growth has offices in the United States, China, India, Turkey, London and Singapore. For more information, visit www.tpggrowth.com.
