“We have long known that these two companies belong together,” Optimum CEO Kevin Keneally said in a statement. “Our customers will gain access to a greater breadth of technical and operational capabilities, and together we can bring unique new products to market.”
Keneally will become president and chief commercial officer of the combined company, which will be led by Bolhous as CEO.
Charter NEX makes coextruded, barrier and monolayer blown films for markets including the food, pharmaceutical, medical and packaging industries. The company has manufacturing locations in Milton, Rhinelander and Superior, Wis., and Turners Falls, Mass.
Charter NEX is owned by Pamplona Capital Management LLP of New York and London, and Optimum was owned by Huron Capital Partners LLC of Detroit. Huron acquired in Bloomer Plastics in 2012 and added Optimum and its Ohio site two years later.
“With both cast embossed and blown film capabilities, we believe we have built Optimum into a major player in the custom films marketplace,” Keneally said in a statement.
Optimum brings annual revenue of more than $100 million, and 145 workers, to the combined company, Huron said. Mesirow Financial advised Bloomer Holdings on the sale.
“Our strategy is to continue our focus on expanding both our process capabilities and our film portfolio,” Bolhous said in a statement. “Together, we will become a more diverse business with complimentary capabilities and resources.”
