FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2019
Contact:
John Beagle
CEO & Managing Director
jbeagle@gracematthews.com
Milwaukee, WI – Grace Matthews, Inc. and the shareholders of Ritus Corporation, including its subsidiary Classic Molding Company, and Vanseal Corporation (collectively, VRC Holdings Inc., or “VRC”) are pleased to announce the sale of VRC to Blue Point Capital Partners (“Blue Point”). VRC will continue to be led by the current management team, including President Tom Gebhardt. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, VRC is a value-added manufacturer of custom-molded rubber, plastic, and sealing components. VRC designs and manufactures a variety of products including mission-critical seals, wiring grommets, tubing and molded thermoplastics primarily for the aerospace & defense, automotive, industrial, oil & gas, marine and medical end markets.
Tom Gebhardt, President of VRC, said, “I am confident that our partnership with Blue Point will offer VRC both the capital and management expertise to help sustain our recent success and support our future growth initiatives, particularly in developing enhanced technical capabilities, a stronger commercial presence and in pursuing acquisition opportunities in our fragmented industry space.”
“VRC has built an exceptional rubber and plastic molding platform that serves a wide variety of end markets where performance and quality are critical,” said Andy Hinz, Managing Director at Grace Matthews. “In partnering with Blue Point, a firm with deep experience and success in the elastomeric market, VRC is well-positioned to accelerate its long track record of growth,” added Eric Sabelhaus, Vice President at Grace Matthews.
Grace Matthews, Inc. served as the exclusive financial advisor to Ritus Corporation and Vanseal Corporation, and Quarles & Brady acted as its legal advisor on the transaction.
ABOUT VRC HOLDINGS INC.
VRC was founded in 1963 and has since served customers primarily in the aerospace & defense, automotive, industrial, oil & gas, marine and medical end markets. VRC Holdings Inc. is made up of Ritus Corporation, its subsidiary Classic Molding Company, and Vanseal Corporation, which operate under the same management team and support one another to deliver products that provide the best overall value for their customers. For more information, visit www.ritus.com.
ABOUT BLUE POINT CAPITAL PARTNERS
Blue Point Capital Partners is a private equity firm managing over $1.5 billion in committed capital. With offices in Cleveland, Charlotte, Seattle and Shanghai, Blue Point’s geographical footprint allows it to establish relationships with local and regional entrepreneurs and advisors, while providing the resources of a global organization. The Blue Point partner group has a 20-year track record of partnering with companies in the lower middle-market to facilitate growth and transformative change. It is one of only a few middle market private equity firms with a presence in both the United States and Asia, which provides a distinct advantage for its portfolio companies. Blue Point typically invests in businesses that generate between $20 million and $300 million in revenue. For more information, visit www.bluepointcapital.com.
ABOUT GRACE MATTHEWS
Grace Matthews, Inc., a Milwaukee-based investment bank, provides merger, acquisition and corporate finance advisory services to private and public companies across the chemical and materials value chain. Grace Matthews is known globally for completing successful chemical industry transactions dating back to the early 1990s. Grace Matthews’ principals have completed over 150 transactions involving global corporations such as AkzoNobel, 3M, DuPont, Sherwin-Williams, PPG Industries, Ashland, ICI, Air Products, Landec Corporation, The Home Depot, Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Becker Industrial Coatings, RPM International, Weatherford, BASF, Lubrizol, WR Grace, Axalta, Eastman, and Hempel. For more detailed information on Grace Matthews, visit www.gracematthews.com.
John Beagle, CEO & Managing Director
jbeagle@gracematthews.com
Andy Hinz, Managing Director
ahinz@gracematthews.com
Eric Sabelhaus, Vice President
esabelhaus@gracematthews.com
Matt Stouder, Analyst
mstouder@gracematthews.com
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