TULSA, OK, May 20, 2010 – Cedar Creek and private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners today announce a recapitalization whereby Charlesbank will acquire majority ownership of Cedar Creek.
Considered the nation’s largest cedar distributor, Cedar Creek supplies lumberyards and building supply retailers across a 13-state area. With eight locations in seven states, employing a staff of 400, founder Clark Wiens projects sales of $500 million this year, about even to 2009 results.
“It’s been a tough two years, but we never lost money,” said Wiens, who worked 18 months with Tulsa merger and acquisition consultants ClearRidge to secure this recapitalization effort. “We just kind of hung in there.”
Wiens gave credit to ClearRidge for not only helping bring this deal about, but a financing package secured a year ago.
“We were never crippled by lack of money, but we were crippled by the ability to take on new products,” he said in a telephone interview with Kirby Davis of the Journal Record.
CLICK TO VIEW: Tulsa Business Journal Article
CLICK TO VIEW: Journal Record Article
CLICK TO VIEW: Tulsa World Article
CLICK TO VIEW: Mergers Unleashed Article
CLICK TO VIEW: Cedar Creek CEO targets $1B growth strategies – May 25 update – Journal Record
The business was the long-time target of Charlesbank, who had been planning a platform acquisition in the wholesale building materials distribution industry for over a year. This new partnership brings together one of the biggest and best-performing companies in the wholesale building materials distribution industry with the strategic expertise and capital resources of Charlesbank. The transaction, which is structured as an asset purchase, will provide the Cedar Creek business with capital to grow organically and expand within the wholesale building materials distribution segment beyond its current trade areas.
The parties are also pleased to announce the appointment of William Adams to the position of Chairman and CEO of Cedar Creek. Mr. Adams is an industry veteran with executive experience at ABTCO, Louisiana Pacific Corporation, Masonite Corporation and Trussway. Clark Wiens, David Bond and D. Wayne Trousdale will retain meaningful equity stakes in the business and will remain in senior executive positions to run the business along with Mr. Adams. All four will play key roles in the growth of the business going forward, including expansion into new geographical areas.
Mr. Wiens said, “We are very pleased to partner with Charlesbank and Bill Adams as we move our business to the next level. We remain focused on delivering top-notch service for our customers in terms of product offerings, delivery and price. This new partnership will help us provide the same high-quality service to our current customers as well as to new customers in expanded geographies. I am also delighted to have Bill joining us at the helm, as he has been a well-respected industry colleague for the past 20 years.”
“I am excited to join Cedar Creek at this important turning point,” said Bill Adams. “The business has successfully grown over the past 30 years by partnering with customers, suppliers and employees to deliver world-class service and products, and I believe that Charlesbank’s experience will be invaluable as we further build Cedar Creek’s influence and presence.”
Charlesbank’s investment in the Cedar Creek business was the culmination of a focused effort to identify, research and partner with a strong platform business in the wholesale building materials distribution industry. Charlesbank’s principals first worked with Mr. Adams when they recruited him to be a senior executive of former portfolio company ABTCO in the early 1990s. Mr. Adams helped develop ABTCO into a leading specialty-products supplier following its divestiture from Abitibi-Price. Of their latest collaboration, Jon Biotti, Managing Director of Charlesbank, said, “This is a wonderful opportunity to work together again. In Cedar Creek, we found an attractive product portfolio and a customer service-oriented business model that is highly valued by the customers. Charlesbank looks forward to supporting the management team’s future efforts and has committed additional capital to spearhead the growth of the business as the economy rebounds.”
Cedar Creek was advised by ClearRidge, who notes that the strength of the Cedar Creek management team helped his firm overcome substantial market challenges. “It is a testament to the vigor of Cedar Creek’s business and to Charlesbank’s strong reputation that we were able to structure this deal to create a formidable growth company in the industry.”
About Cedar Creek
Cedar Creek is a leading wholesale building materials distribution company with headquarters in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Beginning as one yard in Tulsa in 1977, the company has since expanded its operations to eight distribution facilities and today provides services to more than 13 states across the Midwest and Southeast. It is the country’s premier cedar distributor and one of the largest lumber and manufactured wood distributors in the United States. Visit www.cedarcreek.com for more information.
About Charlesbank Capital Partners
Based in Boston and New York, Charlesbank Capital Partners is a middle-market private equity investment firm managing more than $2 billion of capital. Charlesbank focuses on management-led buyouts and growth capital financings, typically investing $50 million to $150 million per transaction in companies with enterprise values of $100 million to $750 million. The firm seeks to partner with strong management teams to build companies with sustainable competitive advantages and excellent prospects for growth. Visit www.charlesbank.com for more information.
About ClearRidge
ClearRidge maximizes enterprise value as a business, financial and strategic advisor. Led by Bruce Jones and Matthew Bristow, ClearRidge’s team have completed M&A transactions, provided restructuring advice, and secured new and replacement capital for midsized companies across the US and Canada. ClearRidge is Oklahoma’s leading provider of mergers & acquisitions and corporate finance services to middle-market US companies. Visit clearridgecapital.com for more information.
