Highview and Victory Park Complete Acquisition of Katy Industries Operations and Assets
Establish New Company, American Plastics, to Market Existing
Brands and Products of Leading Commercial Cleaning and Storage Products
Provider
LOS ANGELES & ST. LOUIS & CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Highview Capital, LLC (“Highview”) and Victory Park Capital Advisors,
LLC (“VPC”) announced today the completion of the acquisition of
substantially all of the assets of Katy Industries, Inc. (OTC:KATY)
(“Katy” or the “Company”), a leading manufacturer, importer and
distributor of commercial cleaning and consumer storage products. The
assets will be consolidated under a newly formed holding company owned
by Highview and VPC, named American Plastics, LLC. This new platform
will be led by Robert Guerra, recent President and Chief Executive
Officer of Katy, and will continue to operate under the Company’s
brands, including Continental Commercial Products, Contico, Wilen,
Fundamentals and Fort Wayne Plastics.
Ryan McCarthy, Co-Founder and Senior Portfolio Manager of Highview,
said, “We are thrilled to partner with Robert and VPC to provide
American Plastics with long-term stability and accelerate its growth
through both organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions. For 50
years, Katy has established a strong reputation and popular brands by
reliably providing quality products and services to its customers. Now,
with a well-capitalized balance sheet and new funding, American Plastics
is in a strong position to continue that legacy, execute on its
strategic plan and enter a new era of growth.”
Charles Asfour, Partner at VPC, said, “We are very pleased with the
outcome of this transaction. Our partnership with Highview enabled Katy
to complete a quick and efficient sale process within just three months
while also preserving the Company’s value and establishing a new
platform for future success. We are confident that the Company is on the
right path for a bright future and look forward to continuing to work
closely with Highview and American Plastics’ management team as we
collectively execute upon our growth and strategic plans going forward.”
Robert Guerra, American Plastics President and CEO, added, “Today’s news
is an exciting milestone for our company, marking the beginning of our
next chapter as American Plastics. With the support and expertise of our
new partners, we are now better equipped than ever to achieve
sustainable growth and continue to meet the needs of our customers,
employees and other stakeholders. We appreciate our customers’ loyalty
throughout our restructuring process and are committed to continuing to
provide essential products through the same brands they have come to
rely on. Delivering top-quality products and services to our customers
will always be our top priority, and we look forward to serving all our
customers for many more years to come.”
On May 14, 2017, a newly created entity owned by Highview and VPC was
named as the stalking horse bidder in Katy’s court-supervised auction
process to purchase the assets sold under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy
Code. Katy completed a sale process to seek the highest and best offer
to purchase the business as a whole or any of its component parts, in
accordance with the court-approved bid procedures. The acquisition by
Highview and VPC was approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for
the District of Delaware on July 17, 2017.
The Katy Industries, Inc. Chapter 11 case has been filed in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington under the
Case number 17-11101. Additional information can be found at www.jndla.com/cases/Katy.
Robert Guerra Biography
Mr. Guerra is a veteran of the industrial manufacturing sector with more
than 30 years of leadership and operational expertise. Most recently,
Mr. Guerra served as president of IMI Precision Engineering, where he
oversaw financial performance and implemented numerous strategies to
drive sales and profit growth within key market segments for all
business units in the Americas. Before that, Mr. Guerra served as a
president at 3Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, where he led the
company to record sales and profits by introducing and sustaining
innovative business strategies to excel in customer service and product
delivery.
About American Plastics, LLC
American Plastics is a leading
manufacturer, importer and distributor of commercial cleaning and
consumer storage products. American Plastics markets its branded
products under the Continental Commercial Products, Contico, Wilen,
Fundamentals and Fort Wayne Plastics banners. Founded in 1967 as Katy
Industries, American Plastics is headquartered in St. Louis and operates
injection molding and manufacturing facilities in Jefferson City, Mo.;
Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Tiffin, Ohio, with additional distribution centers
in Fontana, Calif.; and Toronto. For more information, please visit: www.americanplasticsllc.com.
About Highview Capital
Highview Capital is an opportunistic
private equity investment vehicle headquartered in Los Angeles, CA with
approximately $500 million in assets under management. Highview takes a
bold approach to creating stable, long-term value for middle-market
businesses across numerous industries that are facing an inflection
point, including periods of transformation, turnaround, growth, or
expansion. For more information, please visit: www.highviewcp.com.
About Victory Park Capital Advisors, LLC
Victory Park
Capital Advisors, LLC (VPC) is an alternative investment firm with a
focus on providing privately negotiated debt and equity capital
solutions to small and middle market companies across a wide range of
industries. We target fundamentally sound businesses in need of
liquidity and/or capital structure transformation and often take a
leadership role in the financial restructuring process. VPC’s offerings
leverage the firm’s special situations and credit structuring expertise
and differentiated deal origination capabilities. The firm was founded
in 2007 and is headquartered in Chicago, with resources in New York, Los
Angeles and London. VPC is privately held and a Registered Investment
Advisor with the SEC. For more information visit: www.victoryparkcapital.com.
Contacts
For American Plastics / Katy Industries:
Brian Nichols, 800-325-1051
[email protected]
or
For
Highview Capital:
Sard Verbinnen & Co
John Christiansen,
415-618-8750
or
Alyssa Linn, 310-201-2040
or
For
Victory Park Capital Advisors:
Edelman
Fernando Agudelo,
312-240-3082
[email protected]