-
One Stop Buyout™ of Axygen
In September, American Capital invested in the One Stop Buyout™ of Axygen Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of high quality life sciences plastic consumables, liquid handling products and bench-top laboratory equipment. American Capital's investment took the form of a senior term loan, senior and junior subordinated debt and equity. American Capital is also providing a revolving credit facility. American Capital now owns approximately 79% of the Company on a fully diluted basis, with Axygen management owning the remaining balance.
Founded in 1993, Axygen is a manufacturer and distributor of high quality life sciences plastic consumables, liquid handling products and bench-top laboratory equipment. The Company offers over 2,400 individual products in two principal categories: plastic consumables, including high throughput screening and polymerase chain reaction products, filter and pipette tips, microtubes and screw cap tubes; and lab equipment products, including centrifuges, shakers, rockers, ovens and incubators. Axygen's products are sold through distributors primarily to end users in the fields of science and medicine in the research and development divisions of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and government, academic, clinical, industrial research and other laboratories. Axygen is headquartered in Union City, California and has manufacturing facilities in California, New Jersey, Poland and China.
For more information about Axygen, click here.
Contact Frank Do, Managing Director, or Kimberly Reed, Principal, at (310) 806-6280.
Back To Top
-
Investment in Recapitalization of Marina Medical Billing Service
In September, American Capital invested in the recapitalization of Marina Medical Billing Service Inc., a leading provider of revenue cycle management services for hospital emergency department physician groups. American Capital's investment took the form of a senior term loan, senior and junior subordinated debt and convertible preferred and common equity. American Capital is also providing a revolving credit facility. Led by Marsha Besley, Founder and President, and Michael Connellan, CEO, Marina's senior management team will continue to be key shareholders with convertible preferred and common equity positions
Marina Medical Billing Service, founded in 1981, is a provider of billing and collection services to hospital emergency department physician groups and physician practice management companies in six states. The Company's services include coding, preparing and submitting claims for insurance reimbursement, mailing patient billing statements and coordinating cash collections. Marina is headquartered in Cerritos, CA and employs nearly 400 people. In 2006, Marsha Besley, Marina Founder and President, won the Ernst & Young/Orange County Business Journal Entrepreneur of the Year award.
For more information about Marina Medical Billing Service, click here.
Contact Jon Isaacson, Managing Director, at (301) 951-6122.
Back To Top
-
$58 Million in BondDesk Group, LLC
In August, American Capital invested $58 million to support the acquisition of BondDesk Group, LLC by Advent International. BondDesk Group is the largest electronic trading system focused on odd-lot fixed income transactions, those of less than $1 million in par value. American Capital's investment took the form of senior and junior subordinated debt and equity. American Capital also acted as co-lead arranger for a senior debt syndicate being led by Merrill Lynch Capital. BondDesk management also invested in the equity, alongside Advent International and American Capital.
Founded in 1999, BondDesk facilitates the electronic trading of odd-lot, primarily retail related, fixed income instruments through its Alternative Trading System (ATS). The BondDesk ATS, run by BondDesk's broker-dealer subsidiary, BondDesk Trading LLC, connects broker-dealers through a centralized marketplace by offering a diverse pool of liquidity. By creating a unique and flexible trading system, BondDesk gives its clients access to over 30,000 live taxable and tax-exempt offerings from over 90 leading dealers. These clients currently execute over 20,000 transactions per day on the ATS. BondDesk also offers additional services and software tools designed to facilitate the trading process. The Company is based in Mill Valley, CA and has key offices in California, Michigan, and New York.
For more information about BondDesk, click here.
Contact Sean Eagle, Principal, at (301) 951-6122.
Back To Top
-
$21 Million in Berry-Hill Galleries, Inc.
In August, American Capital invested $21 million in debtor-in-possession financing to Berry-Hill Galleries Inc., a leading New York-based fine arts gallery specializing in eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth century American paintings. Berry‑Hill is currently operating under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. American Capital's loan is secured by Berry-Hill's prime Manhattan real estate and its substantial art inventory.
Berry-Hill has been based in Manhattan since the 1930s and has acquired an outstanding reputation for its expertise in Early American paintings. Its collection includes works by Winslow Homer, Frederic Church, John Singer Sargent and Jackson Pollock. In addition, the gallery deals in contemporary American art and modern European paintings, as well as Old Masters. Customers also regularly turn to Berry-Hill for consignment and participation art sales.
For more information about Berry-Hill Galleries, click here.
Contact Myung Yi, Principal, at (301) 951-6122.
Back To Top
-
One Stop Buyout™ of Scientific Protein Laboratories, LLC
In August, American Capital invested in the One Stop Buyout™ of Scientific Protein Laboratories, LLC (SPL), a leading global independent manufacturer and supplier of biologic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). American Capital's investment took the form of a senior term A loan, a senior second lien loan, senior and junior subordinated debt and equity. American Capital also provided a revolving credit facility. SPL management is also investing in equity. Post close, American Capital owns approximately 87% of the Company on a fully diluted basis. SPL was previously owned by Arsenal Capital Partners, SPL management and other investors.
SPL's heparin APIs are critical inputs in the manufacture of heparin-based anticoagulants, which are utilized to treat and prevent thrombosis. The Company's pancreatin APIs are used to manufacture pancreatin drugs for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency associated with cystic fibrosis and chronic pancreatitis. In addition, the Company's Development Services Group is working with several pharmaceutical and biotech companies on developing the API manufacturing processes for new APIs in support of exciting new drug compounds currently in clinical trials. The Company is based in Waunakee, Wisconsin and has production facilities located in Waunakee and Changzhou, China.
For more information about Scientific Protein Laboratories LLC, click here.
Contact Bowen Diehl, Principal, at (301) 951-6122.
Back To Top
-
$13 Million in Tymphany Corporation
In August, American Capital invested $13 million in Tymphany Corporation, the industry's leading provider of innovative audio transducers, and the developer of the Tymphany Linear Array Transducer (LAT), the first significant breakthrough in subwoofer technology since the inception of the subwoofer. American Capital's investment took the form of convertible preferred equity. The investment is being used to provide working capital for the expansion of the Company's China operations and to support further product development and penetration of new markets. Greg Smitherman, American Capital Managing Director, also joined Tymphany's Board of Directors. Vantage Point Venture Partners, the Company's main investor, also participated in the financing round.
Tymphany Corporation is the leading provider of innovative, high quality audio transducers and acoustical engineering customization services for manufacturers of both lifestyle consumer electronic products and audiophile-quality, high-end solutions. The Company offers a wide range of products and form factors unmatched in the industry, and sells these products under the renowned ScanSpeak and Peerless brands, and the Tymphany LAT brand. Tymphany's products are manufactured in an ISO-certified facility in Denmark, and in the Company's state-of-the-art, ISO-certified facility in PanYu, China. With over 80 years of audio transducer design, development and customization expertise, Tymphany's brands provide the optimum audio solution for any application or end-product.
For more information about Tymphany, click here.
Contact Virginia M. Turezyn,Managing Director, Technology Group or Greg Smitherman, Managing Director, Technology Group, at (650) 289-4560.
Back To Top
-
Investment in Add-On Acquisition for Portfolio Company eLynx, Ltd.
In September, American Capital made an additional investment in its portfolio company eLynx, Ltd. to support its acquisition of SwiftView, Inc., a leading provider of electronic document distribution ("EDD") services. American Capital's investment took the form of a senior term B loan and redeemable preferred and common equity.
Founded in 1985, SwiftView is the second largest provider of secure EDD services to the mortgage industry. SwiftView's products and services include: SwiftSend Services, including SwiftSend LoanDocs, SwiftSend eLoanFolder®, and SwiftSend eDisclosure®, for instant, secure delivery of mortgage documents; and SwiftView Tools, including SwiftView Viewer, for the presentation and re-printing of data. The Company's customers are primarily mortgage lenders and include New Century Mortgage, US Bank Home Mortgage, DR Horton Financial Services and Mortgage Lenders Network USA. SwiftView is headquartered in a suburb of Portland, OR.
eLynx, founded in 1994 and based in Cincinnati, OH, was the first to develop a web-based EDD processing system that transmitted secure mortgage documents. The Company now provides secure EDD and electronic signatures to the mortgage industry through its web posting service ("WPS") and uSign™ products respectively. WPS is constructed with proprietary code that enables clients to securely deliver electronic documents through the use of a common web browser and save up to 75% of traditional paper delivery costs. In 2003, with the introduction of uSign™, eLynx became the first company to integrate e-signature capabilities into a commercially viable EDD solution. The Company's eLynx PRO product, which provides a neutral, desktop platform that installs in minutes, captures documents from any application, interfaces with the user via a familiar email-like appearance and provides Web-based security.
For more information about eLynx, click here.
Contact Todd Wilson, Principal, at (212) 213-2009.
Back To Top
-
$34 Million in Add-On Acquisition for Portfolio Company BPWest
In August, American Capital invested an additional $34 million in its portfolio company, BPWest Inc., to support BPWest's acquisition of Toby's Vacuum Truck Services Inc. and to refinance all of the senior debt of BPWest. Toby's provides water hauling services to support drilling and production activity in the Piceance Basin in Colorado. American Capital's investment took the form of a senior term A loan. American Capital is also providing a revolving credit facility.
Founded in 1989, Toby's Vacuum Truck Services provides water hauling services to over 1,500 producing wells in the Piceance Basin in northwestern Colorado. The Company also provides fresh water to drilling operators, often in combination with other additives, which is used in a variety of drilling applications. Toby's headquarters are in Parachute, CO, in the heart of the Piceance Basin.
In 2005, American Capital first invested in BPWest when it was formed to acquire Anchor Drilling Fluids USA. BPWest is now a leading provider of drilling fluid products and services for oil and gas drilling in the Rockies, the Mid-Continent, the Arkoma Basin and the Permian Basin. Drilling fluids are used to control formation pressures, remove cutting, and cool and lubricate drillbits. BPWest's products include weight materials and clays, thinners, fluid loss control agents, oil mud products, lost circulation materials, chemicals and specialty and corrosion control products. The Company also provides engineering, trucking and rental equipment services. BPWest's headquarters are in Tulsa, OK and it has operating facilities in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Montana and Utah.
For more information about BPWest, click here.
Contact Kevin Kuykendall, Principal, Energy Group at (214) 220-4600.
Back To Top
-
$54 Million in Recapitalization of Portfolio Company TransFirst Holdings
In August, American Capital invested $54 million in its portfolio company TransFirst Holdings Inc., a leading provider of transaction processing services and payment technologies. American Capital's investment took the form of a second lien junior secured term loan. A syndicate led by Merrill Lynch Capital provided a secured loan facility consisting of a senior secured revolving loan facility, first lien senior secured term loan and second lien junior secured term loan. GTCR Golder Rauner LLC is the majority owner of TransFirst.
American Capital originally invested in TransFirst in April 2004, supporting TransFirst's acquisition of the third party and agent bank merchant division of Fifth Third Bank (Nasdaq: FITB) Processing Solutions. Founded in 1995, Dallas-based TransFirst is a provider of a complete line of merchant credit and debit transaction processing services, including transaction authorization, transaction data capture and transmission, merchant reporting, merchant acceptance, transaction settlement and clearing, real-time transaction monitoring and transaction charge-back solutions. TransFirst's customer base is made up of more than 1,200 sales channel partners representing approximately 154,000 merchants throughout the U.S. In addition to its headquarters, TransFirst also has operating facilities in Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin and California and employs over 550. TransFirst recorded 2006 net revenue of approximately $130 million for the year ending June 30, 2006.
For more information about TransFirst, click here.
Contact Jon Leiman, Principal, at (312) 681-7400.
Back To Top
-
$52 Million Dividend Recapitalization of Breeze Industrial Products
In August, American Capital invested an additional $52 million in its portfolio company Breeze Industrial Products Corporation, a leading global supplier of steel clamps, to support Breeze's dividend recapitalization. American Capital's investment took the form of a senior second lien loan, senior subordinated debt and holding company subordinated debt. GE Antares Capital, a unit of GE Commercial Finance, lead a syndication of the revolving credit facility and the senior term B loan. Wind Point Partners is the majority owner of Breeze.
American Capital first invested in Breeze in August 2004, supporting Wind Point's acquisition. Founded in 1948 in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, Breeze invented and patented the first worm-drive hose clamp, which uses a worm screw configuration to tighten, seal and connect pipes and tubes. Breeze now manufactures worm-drive clamps, exhaust clamps, T-Bolt and V-Band clamps and no-hub couplings. These components are engineered in a wide variety of sizes, strengths, designs and materials for diverse clamping applications. Currently, Breeze has 23 U.S. and foreign patents and sells its products under the Breeze, Torca, and Clamp-All brand names to over 1,500 customers in more than 40 countries. Breeze provides clamps directly to OEMs and Tier I suppliers within the automotive and heavy duty truck markets, and also serves the industrial, hardware, plumbing, agricultural, construction, aerospace and marine industries together with its network of over seventy distributors. Customers include Tenneco, PACCAR, ArvinMeritor, DaimlerChrysler, Cummins, Textron, Navistar/International, Volvo and Harley Davidson. The Company has three ISO 9001/2000 certified operating facilities in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Frittlingen, Germany and employs nearly 500. Breeze recorded revenues of $119 million for the fiscal year ending in March 2006.
For more information about Breeze Industrial Products, click here.
Contact Todd Wilson, Principal, at (212) 213-2009.
Back To Top
