Wellspring Capital Management LLC (“Wellspring”), a New York-based private equity firm, today announced that it has closed the acquisition of Paragon Films, Inc. (“Paragon” or the “Company”), a leading manufacturer of high performance stretch film. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Paragon is a leading manufacturer of high performance stretch films for transit packaging distributors serving the food and beverage, consumer products, logistics and industrials end markets, among others. Paragon manufacturers a variety of premium quality, 100% recyclable hand and machine stretch films that offer superior load containment and puncture resistance to packaging distributors and end users. Paragon’s proprietary formulations and culture of technical expertise have established the company as the leading high performance stretch film manufacturer in North America.
John Morningstar, a Managing Partner at Wellspring who leads the firm’s investment effort in the packaging sector, said, “Our partnership with Paragon represents an exciting opportunity to build on Wellspring’s track record in the packaging space. The Company has an impressive reputation as one of North America’s premier stretch film manufacturers by offering customers a superior product coupled with tangible cost savings. We are very excited to partner with the management team, led by Darin Tang, to support Paragon through its next phase of growth.”
Matthew Harrison, a Partner at Wellspring, commented, “There are strong tailwinds in the high performance stretch film industry and Paragon is exceptionally well positioned to capitalize on these trends. We look forward to partnering with the Paragon team to pursue a range of growth opportunities, including internal initiatives and select acquisitions.”
Darin Tang, CEO of Paragon, added, “We are very excited to partner with Wellspring given the firm’s history of building successful businesses, particularly in the packaging sector. We are extremely proud of what our management team has accomplished and look forward to working with Wellspring to build on Paragon’s historical success.”
McDermott Will & Emery LLP served as legal counsel to Wellspring in the transaction. Rothschild served as financial advisor to Paragon with respect to the transaction and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel.
About Wellspring Capital Management Wellspring Capital Management is a leading private equity firm headquartered in New York. Since its founding in 1995, Wellspring has raised over $4.0 billion of initial capital commitments through six private equity funds. Over the past 20 years, Wellspring has invested in over 35 platform investments across various segments of the U.S. and global economies. Wellspring’s objective is to bring partnership, experience and value creation to each investment. By teaming up with strong management, Wellspring aims to unlock underlying value and pursue new growth opportunities through strategic initiatives, operating improvements and add-on acquisitions. The firm functions as a strategic partner, providing management teams with top-line support, M&A experience, financial expertise and access to resources. For additional information, please visit www.wellspringcapital.com.