Private equity firm Allied Capital Corp. of Washington has nabbed rotational molder Norwesco Inc. in a $160 million management-led recapitalization that closed July 8.
There will be no management changes, no operational changes and no changes in Norwesco's name, officials said. The firm is based in St. Bonifacius, Minn., and was founded in 1939. It makes polyethylene storage tanks used in a variety of applications, including agricultural and industrial.
Allied already had an investment in Norwesco through a loan it made in December.
Its July 8 investment was made in the form of senior debt, subordinated debt, junior subordinated debt and nonvoting common equity.
``The two institutional shareholders actually were going to sell the company for their own reasons,'' Robert Monk, managing partner with Allied, said in a July 11 telephone interview.
Norwest Equity Partners of Minneapolis, along with Brockway Moran & Partners Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla., had held Norwesco since 1998, said Tim Kuehl, principal with Norwest and a Norwesco board member.
Kuehl said the time had come to divest the operation.
``It's our business to make investments in companies,'' he said.
The company will continue growing through add-on acquisitions and geographic expansion under Thomas Smith, its chief executive officer and president.
``We really like the management of Norwesco,'' Monk said. ``They've been running the business successfully for a long time. They're a leader in what they do.''
The company has a history of strong and stable margins, Monk said, with leading market share and predictable growth. Norwesco has 14 rotomolding facilities in North America with roughly 180 employees. The firm reported rotomolding sales of $64 million for 2004.