- The Lenox Group (“Lenox”) served as exclusive financial advisor to HealthCom Partners, LLC (“HealthCom”) on its sale to The Transaction Solutions Hub, a division of McKesson Corporation (“McKesson”; NYSE: MCK).
- Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, HealthCom is a leading provider of patient billing software and transaction processing services for healthcare providers and through its network touches approximately 35 million patients nationwide annually.
- Four entrepreneurs founded HealthCom Partners and were able to grow the business to over 150 “blue-chip” hospital clients including Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Stanford University Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Rush University Medical Center, Advocate Health Care and Novant Health.
- The Lenox Group was engaged to sell this healthcare technology business focused on the acute care setting and advised management on valuation and structuring of the sale transaction.
- McKesson Corporation is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. The company partners with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services.
- Lenox was able to maximize the value to shareholders through a competitive process and negotiated employment contracts for HealthCom executives to join McKesson in senior roles. Through the competitive and efficient process Lenox was able to exceed management expectations and initial valuations.
- The Lenox Group (“Lenox”) served as exclusive financial advisor to Fox Enterprises, Inc. (“Fox Electronics” or the “Company”) in its sale to Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (“IDT”; NASDAQ: IDTI). Lenox served as the Company’s exclusive financial advisor in three separate transactions over nine years.
- Fox Electronics, located in Fort Myers, Florida, was founded by Edward L. Fox in 1979. The Company has become one of the most recognized brands in frequency control and has provided frequency control timing products to the worldwide electronics market for over 33 years. Fox Electronics’ expansive portfolio includes the XpressO family of revolutionary quick-turn oscillator products, quartz crystals, voltage-controlled crystal oscillators and more.
- Fox Electronics originally retained Lenox to refinance its existing debt facility and raise growth capital. A few years later when Fox had outgrown that lender, Lenox was again retained to find a senior partner.
- Over the years, Lenox and Fox strategically planned for the sale of the business. Lenox advised on the most appropriate timing of sale based on market and industry dynamics in addition to family considerations. The founders were passive and wanted liquidity while the second generation and management owners wished to continue running operations and participate in the future growth of the Company.
- Lenox advised the Company’s owners on appropriate valuation and negotiated the terms of the Fox sale to IDT.
- IDT designs, develops, manufactures, and markets a range of integrated circuits for communications, computing, and consumer industries worldwide. The acquisition of Fox Electronics made IDT the industry’s most comprehensive one-stop shop for frequency control products.
- Fox’s owners received full liquidity and the management team secured an equity incentive plan tied to performance.
- Following the sale transaction, Lenox assisted in the negotiation of the earn-out payment due to the Fox shareholders.
- The Lenox Group served as exclusive financial advisor to Crown Products & Services, LLC and its subsidiaries (“Crown” or the “Company”) on its majority recapitalization led by Merit Capital Partners (“Merit”).
- Headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, Crown specializes in the formulation and application of proprietary specialty chemicals used to facilitate raw material handling in the coal, steel and utility industries. Crown supplies a turn-key solution to clients by providing the necessary expertise, equipment and chemicals.
- The Company’s customers include coal producers, coke producers, steel manufacturers, utility companies and industrial companies across the United States. The Company also provides products and services to steel companies in Canada and Eastern Europe.
- Crown retained The Lenox Group seeking liquidity alternatives. Owners wanted to take a dividend, but did not want to materially change day-to-day operations or management structure.
- The Lenox Group negotiated and structured Crown’s majority recapitalization as well as managed the process, allowing senior management to remain focused on operations of existing divisions.
- Merit Capital Partners is a Chicago-based private equity firm managing $1.7 billion through institutionally sponsored limited partnerships investing mezzanine and equity capital in middle-market companies principally in manufacturing, distribution and services industries. Merit focuses exclusively on high-quality, established businesses with carefully conceived operating strategies with a goal of working with committed owners and strong managers to help increase a company's enterprise value.
- Crown’s founding management team received liquidity and retained significant ownership positions as co-investors with Merit. The transaction also positioned the Company to move further into new international markets and develop additional product lines with ample capital available.
- The Lenox Group (“Lenox”) served as exclusive financial advisor to Electronic Systems Protection, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“ESP” or the “Company”) in its sale to Gridiron Capital, LLC (“Gridiron”).
- ESP, headquartered in Knightdale, North Carolina, is the leading manufacturer of power protection technology for the office technology industry. The Company’s devices provide unparalleled protection for equipment vulnerable to electrical power disturbances including surges, ground noise, dirty power disruptions, lightning and other harmful voltage transients. Types of equipment protected include copiers, fax machines, modems and other electronic equipment with microprocessors and other sensitive components.
- The Company’s patented power filtration and power protection technology is certified and approved by the leading standard and safety organizations, and its products have become the choice for power protection by many of the world’s premier electronic equipment manufacturers.
- ESP retained The Lenox Group to explore a sale of the business. The owners were passive and wanted liquidity while allowing the senior management team to continue running operations and participate in the future growth of the Company.
- The Lenox Group advised the Company’s owners on appropriate valuation and negotiated the terms of ESP’s sale to Gridiron.
- Gridiron Capital, LLC, headquartered in New Canaan, Connecticut, is a private equity firm focused on creating value by acquiring and building middle-market manufacturing, service and specialty consumer companies in the United States and Canada. Gridiron’s principals work closely with management teams to develop strategies for portfolio companies, as well as providing resources to execute business plans and build industry-leading companies.
- ESP’s ownership received full liquidity and the management team secured an equity incentive plan tied to performance. Management also received the opportunity to invest in the Company alongside Gridiron.
- Following the ESP sale transaction, Gridiron retained The Lenox Group to identify acquisition opportunities in the power protection equipment and technology sector. Lenox ran a buy-side process selecting SurgeX as a good candidate for addition to the ESP platform. The team at Lenox assisted Gridiron in negotiating and closing the acquisition transaction.
- SurgeX is the most respected brand of professional quality AC power solutions for protection, power conditioning, and control of sensitive electrical and electronic equipment, especially today’s DSP – and microprocessor-based equipment. SurgeX products are designed to suit a broad array of applications and are offered in as IP addressable solutions and as stand-alone, rack-mount, and NEMA enclosures.
- Lenox Bankers (“Lenox”) served as exclusive financial advisor to a management team of former Alcoa and Reynolds Metals executives in their acquisition of Alcoa’s Sherwin Alumina Refinery, the 9th largest in the world.
- The Lenox team raised senior debt, subordinated debt and equity capital to facilitate the transaction as well as advised the management team on the acquisition price, terms and structure of the buy-out.
- Lenox was able to negotiate a three-year take-or-pay contract with Alcoa fixing the price of alumina sold to Alcoa. In addition, Lenox assisted with BPU’s hedge on the price of natural gas, a key production cost, at a historical average in a turbulent natural gas pricing environment.
- The transaction was structured in a fashion that was readily acceptable to debt markets and provided attractive return expectations for equity and mezzanine groups. Lenox was also able to maximize the management team’s ownership both at closing and at realization through performance hurdles.
- The entire capital structure was placed with investors and lenders within 45 days to comply with the Department of Justice timeline that governed the timing of the divestiture by Alcoa following its merger with Reynolds Metals.
- Subsequently, Lenox assisted BPU Reynolds in its sale to Glencore International (now Glencore-Xstrata, plc).