New York-based private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners has acquired International Fiber Corporation (IFC), a supplier of cellulose‐based insoluble fibre products for food and industrial applications globally.
Prior to close of this acquisition, IFC was a portfolio company of Swander Pace Capital.
Founded in 1917, and headquartered in North Tonawanda, New York, IFC’s fibre is used in food applications for a variety of functions including improving taste and texture, enhancing yield and processability, and numerous health benefits. In industrial applications, IFC’s fibre is used to thicken paints, strengthen rubber used in industrial hoses and belts, for filtration as well as to control viscosity in thermoplastics. IFC’s products include brands such as Solka-Floc, Alpha-Cel, KEYCEL, JustFiber, FloAm, Qual Flo, and NutraFiber. IFC has operating facilities in North Tonawanda, NY; Urbana and Oberlin, Ohio; Nitro, West Virginia; and Temse, Belgium.
"Arsenal is delighted to invest in a global company with long history of innovation providing great solutions and service to its diverse customers. IFC maintains a strong industry reputation by providing its customers with the highest level of performance and quality, and is well‐positioned to capitalise on the growing demand for fibre products both domestically and internationally," says John Televantos (pictured), a partner who co-heads the Arsenal’s specialty industrials practice.
"Swander Pace is pleased with the growth and performance of IFC throughout the duration of our investment, which included the addition of a new production facility, expansion into several new product categories and a significant increase in production capabilities," says Swander Pace managing director Mo Stout. "It has been a very rewarding partnership on both sides, and our team will continue to look for opportunities to partner with innovative, industry-leading companies, such as IFC."
Arsenal senior advisor Ken Blackburn will assume the position of chief executive officer of IFC following executive roles with Arkema Corp, FMC Corp. and ITT Rayonier.
The acquisition of IFC is the eighth acquisition by Arsenal in 2013, and sixth by its specialty industrials team following the acquisitions of TP Electrical, Fournier Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Arnco, Pathway Polymers and ADCO Global.
Sagent Advisors acted as financial advisor and DLA Piper acted as legal advisor to Arsenal. Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal advisor to Swander Pace.
