River Associates Acquires Double E Holding Corp.
Chattanooga, TN, May 31, 2017
River Associates Investments (“River Associates” or “River”), a longstanding lower middle market private equity firm based in Chattanooga, TN, announced that it has partnered with management to acquire Double E Holding Corp. (“Double E”).
Headquartered in West Bridgewater, MA, Double E is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of highly-engineered components for web converting applications. Double E provides a comprehensive product line of web accessory component solutions to more than 7,000 customers in the paper, film, foil, corrugated, packaging, printing and non-woven end markets. The Company’s product lines include core and chucks, core shafts, core plugs, fiberglass cores, rollers, shafted roll stands, and core cutters. The majority of Double E manufacturing is located in the U.S. and Italy. The company has other plants and offices in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico, and Colombia. Double E also has a large network of sales and support agents all over the world.
“It was evident from our earliest meetings that River Associates would be a trusted and valuable partner through the next stage of growth,” said Tom Pranka, CEO of Double E. “Their tenure as investors, experience with numerous manufacturing businesses, and their understanding of our vision for Double E make us confident that the partnership will allow us to continue to exceed customer expectations.”
Kurt Haras, Managing Director at Quarton International who advised Double E during the transaction said, “The River team met an exceptionally high standard in a very competitive process. From the initial conversation through closing, the entire River team consistently expressed to Quarton their strong interest in acquiring Double E. This messaging was supported by River meeting a number of time-sensitive milestones while developing a strong rapport with management. River has an outstanding track record in working with businesses similar to Double E and I am confident River will be a great partner to the company and management as it enters its next phase of development.”
“We have been impressed with the innovation, consistency, and dedication to customers that is fundamental to Double E,” said Mike Brookshire, Co-Managing Partner at River Associates. “River is pleased to be partnering with Double E’s excellent management team and look forward to exploring multiple avenues of growth together.”
River funded the transaction with equity from its sixth and seventh investment funds (River VI, L.P. and River VII, L.P.). Financing was provided by Twin Brook Capital Partners.