Arctic Fox is a leading supplier of high quality, proprietary components to the heavy-duty trucking and off-highway equipment markets.  To take the business to the next level, the owner required more resources and expert guidance.  Madeira Partners ran a full process of strategic and private equity acquirers and, ultimately identified Spell Capital Partners.

Spell was prepared to provide the necessary capital and strategic leadership to fuel aggressive growth at Arctic Fox.  The transaction was a complete success – Arctic Fox experienced tremendous growth over the following five years before Spell Capital exited the investment.

MindWare is an award-winning creator and manufacturer of educational toys, games, brain teasers, building sets, coloring books and other creative play activities.  With the Company in a unique position at the crossroads of product development, catalog retailing, and wholesale distribution to big box and specialty retailers, the owner wanted to retire and retained Madeira to help sell the company.

After meeting with many interested private equity groups, it became clear that a strategic buyer would be better able to handle the complexities of the business while still meeting the seller’s objectives.

Madeira Partners identified Oriental Trading, a Berkshire Hathaway company and the nation’s largest direct retailer of value-priced party supplies, arts and crafts, toys, and novelties as a potential buyer.  The overlap of product lines and the potential catalog retailing synergies made Oriental Trading an ideal fit, and the acquisition was accomplished without delay.

Helgeson Enterprises is a leading provider of outsourced data validation and fulfillment services for rebates and other programs.  To facilitate the retirement of the Company’s owner and put the business on a trajectory for long-term growth, it was decided to sell the business to a direct competitor.  This kind of situation presents a unique challenge and requires walking a fine line between risk and reward.

Madeira Partners carefully managed a process whereby sensitive information was distributed as key milestones were met. This ensured that Parago, the acquirer, would see the deal through to its conclusion without inappropriate use of the competitive data it received.

The transaction was a complete success for the seller who accomplished all of his goals and for the buyer who was able to realize many synergies and remove a major competitor from the market.

Don Stevens, Inc. is an HVAC and foodservice equipment distributor previously owned by two equal partners – one of whom wished to retire, while the other desired to continue managing the business.  In order to affect a partial liquidity event while ensuring continuity of leadership, Madeira Partners ran a national search of private equity groups interested in doing a recapitalization.  As opposed to an outright sale, recapitalizations involve the existing owners maintaining a meaningful minority stake and remaining in day-to-day control of the business after closing.

After meeting with many interested private equity groups, Ironwood Partners of New York was selected.  Ironwood was interested in acquiring a majority stake in Don Stevens while allowing the existing management team to continue in their roles.  Ironwood proposed a conservative capital structure and expressed a desire not to interfere with an already-successful business.

Premier Precision Group, a Minneapolis-based precision manufacturing company, wanted to divest its non-core Stewart aerospace manufacturing and processing division in Phoenix.  The sale of a division can pose a complex set of challenges including customer concentration, a lack of executive leadership, and separation from the parent company.

Madeira Partners found a perfect acquirer in Toronto-based Noranco, a private equity-backed aerospace/defense manufacturer.  Noranco was able to absorb Stewart’s customer concentration, provide the needed leadership, and realize strong operational and cross-selling synergies.