Citicorp Venture Capital has made a controlling investment in Waddington North America, a manufacturer of disposable utensils, alongside middle market private equity firm Norwest Equity Pa
Citicorp Venture Capital has made a controlling investment in Waddington North America, a manufacturer of disposable utensils, alongside middle market private equity firm Norwest Equity Partners and the company’s management.
Waddington designs and manufactures various premium single-serve products for the foodservice industry including dinnerware, drink ware, serving ware, take-out containers and cutlery for use by restaurants, caterers and consumers. Headquartered in Covington, Kentucky, the company operates six manufacturing facilities in the US and Canada.
CVC says industry trends have been favourable for Waddington, enabling the firm to remain a market leader in the niche and high value-added segments of the USD4bn rigid plastic sector of the disposable tableware market.
‘We are thrilled to join the CVC portfolio and are looking forward to realizing our growth plans with our new investment partners,’ says the company’s chief executive Mike Evans. CVC and Norwest have significant plastic and packaging experience, combined with capital to help us grow both internally and through acquisitions.’
According to CVC, a focus on technical innovation, a broad product line offering and a high level of customer service, have helped Waddington to establish long-term customer relationships and achieve a market-leading position in North America in several product categories.
With more than 620 distinct products varying in package size, colour and presentation, the company dominates the premium end of the plastic foodservice disposables market with its Masterpiece, Reflections and Classicware product lines.
‘We are looking forward to our partnership with the Waddington management team and are excited about its history of product innovation and the continued growth opportunity going forward,’ says CVC managing partner Joseph S. Levy.
‘The company differentiates itself as a one-stop shop for its customers with its broad product offering, and with new technologies and proprietary value-added products under development, it is well positioned for continued growth.’
Waddington was previously a portfolio company of Code Hennessy & Simmons. Ropes & Gray provided legal services and SG Americas Securities, a subsidiary of Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking, served as financial advisor on the transaction.
Founded in 1968, CVC is the leveraged buyout platform of Citi Alternative Investments and focuses on making control equity investments in US-based middle-market companies through transactions usually ranging in size between USD100m and USD500m.
CAI is an alternative investment platform that manages products in five asset classes, private equity, hedge funds, real estate, structured products and infrastructure, on behalf of Citi as well as third-party institutional and high net worth investors. At the end of June, CAI had some USD59.2bn in assets under management before leverage.
Founded in 1961, Norwest Equity Partners focuses on making equity investments of between USD20m and USD100m in growing and profitable middle-market companies through management buyouts, recapitalisations, and growth financings. The firm has more than USD3bn in capital under management and is currently investing the USD800m NEP VIII fund.
