Blaige Completes Sale of Crawford Industries to Spartech, a Portfolio Company of The Jordan Company

MIAMI, September 21, 2021 (Newswire.com) - Blaige & Company announced today the sale of Crawford Industries, LLC ("Crawford" or the "Company") to Spartech, LLC ("Spartech"), a portfolio company of The Jordan Company, L.P. ("TJC"). The Company was advised by Blaige & Company on the transaction. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Crawford, headquartered in Crawfordsville, Indiana, is a leading value-added vertically integrated digital printer and converter of rigid plastic packaging and specialty components for the medical/veterinary, food, office/promotional, and signage markets with a successful history spanning over six decades. Founded by Ken Crawford in 1959, its current owners acquired the Company in 1999, and effectively grew through subsequent acquisitions in 2002 (Acco Brands, Inc. Polyblend division) and in 2005 (VTS Imperial Plastic Sheet Corp subsidiary of British Vita PLC). These further expanded Crawford's graphic sheet extrusion business and added a second plant located in Thomasville, Georgia. The Company prides itself on its depth of operations thanks to its vertical integration, as well as quick-turnaround, engineering and design creativity, attention to detail, sustainability of novel branded substrates, and durability of the end products. Management believes that the Company has a unique combination of products and a full range of capabilities rarely found in its industry.

Spartech, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, with a unique innovation center and 14 manufacturing facilities located throughout the United States, is a leading plastics manufacturer of engineered thermoplastic materials and specialty rigid packaging products, meeting exacting standards for everything from food and healthcare packaging, including sustainable solutions, to aerospace, medical devices, protective barriers, and automotive applications.

Crawford co-CEO Kendall Faulstich commented on the transaction. "We were seeking the perfect strategic partner with which to grow Crawford for another 20+ years. Our team began working with the Blaige team over two decades ago, brainstorming the best path to follow to build strategic value. Their ability to position Crawford's strengths and then use their industry network to expose us to the best potential partners definitely led to both a maximization of the certainly to close and to exceeding our value expectations."

Crawford co-CEO David Sullivan commented on the transaction. "Entering the M&A market in a pandemic environment posed incremental challenges to achieving a successful result. We are proud that our M&A advisor provided the guidance and expertise to help us chart a course and navigate to reach our goal."

Blaige & Company CEO Thomas Blaige commented on the transaction. "It was a pleasure to work with George, Kendall, Dave, Jim, and the entire Crawford team, which truly exhibited the capabilities and sophistication of a much larger organization. Spartech will benefit greatly from adding a top-notch organization and a business which possesses a very unique value-added business model, further enhanced by the successful adoption of digital printing technology."

TJC, headquartered in New York, is a middle-market private equity firm that has managed funds with original capital commitments in excess of $17 billion since 1987 and a 39-year track record of investing in and contributing to the growth of many businesses across a wide range of industries including Consumer & Healthcare; Industrials; Technology, Telecom & Utility; and Transportation & Logistics. The senior investment team has been investing together for over 20 years and it is supported by the Operations Management Group, which was established in 1988 to initiate and support operational improvements in portfolio companies.

Blaige & Company, with offices in Miami and Chicago, is an investment bank dedicated exclusively to the packaging, plastics, and chemicals industries. The Blaige team has over 30 years of transaction experience, has completed over 200 transactions, and has visited over 600 packaging, plastics, and chemical operations all over the world. Blaige M&A deal research sets the industry standard. On average, Blaige & Company's proprietary research department compiles and analyzes over 500 worldwide packaging, plastics, and chemical industry transactions annually. Recently, London-based magazine Acquisition International named Mr. Blaige "Sector Focused C.E.O. of the Year" and Blaige & Company "Sector Focused Investment Bank of the Year."

For more information, please contact:

Thomas E. Blaige, Chairman & CEO
[email protected]

Howard S. Cohen, Managing Director
[email protected]

Chicago:
One Magnificent Mile
980 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1350
Chicago, Illinois 60611
+1 (312) 337-5200

Miami:
Brickell Arch Plaza
1395 Brickell Avenue, Suite 800
Miami, Florida 33131

Source: Blaige & Company