Choate Sweeps Manufacturing Sector “Deal of the Year” Category at the ACG New York Champion’s Awards

Choate has been recognized at the ACG New York Champion’s Awards with “Manufacturing Deal of the Year” wins in both the over $75 million and under $75 million categories, sweeping the sector. 

Choate was recognized in the over $75 million category for representing Maxcess International, a portfolio company of Windjammer Capital Investors and Merifin Capital, in its sale to Bertram Capital.  Choate was additionally honored in the under $75 million category for representing Salus Capital Partners, LLC in the restructuring and sale of National Envelope, the largest privately held envelope manufacturer in North America – a deal that was also recognized by The M&A Advisor as its 2013 “Restructuring Deal of the Year” (over $50 million to $100 million).

The ACG New York Champion’s Awards honor the outstanding individuals, firms and transactions in the New York area that have helped drive America’s middle market over the past year.  The awards are judged by an independent body of experts representing a cross-section of the middle market industry.

Choate’s private equity team represented Maxcess International, an Oklahoma-based leading global provider of automation instrumentation solutions and systems utilized in complex continuous web-fed converting lines, in its sale to Bertram Capital.  Maxcess was one of the final companies remaining in Windjammer’s Fund II portfolio, and it will be combined with Bertram’s portfolio company Webex, Inc.  The Maxcess sale is the fourth deal that Choate has recently closed for Windjammer or one of its portfolio companies.

Choate’s finance and restructuring team, led by partners John Ventola and Sean Monahan, represented Salus Capital Partners, LLC in the turnaround of National Envelope, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  Salus’ debtor-in-possession loan of $67.5 million provided the working capital that allowed National Envelope to maintain its normal operations during the sales process, which was developed as a private sale instead of a typical Chapter 11 auction due to the need for a quick turnaround time.  National Envelope’s $70 million sale of its operating assets, accounts receivable and inventory to three different companies enabled nearly all of National Envelope’s 1,590 employees to keep their jobs at the same wages, benefits and location.

ACG New York is a leading association for middle market dealmaking professionals in the New York area, and The M&A Advisor is a premier global network of M&A, turnaround and finance professionals worldwide.