MILTON, Wis. & LEXINGTON, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Leading specialty film producers Next Generation Films and Charter NEX Films jointly announce their plans to combine, creating a new platform focused on leading the specialty films market.
Private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. (LGP) and Oak Hill Capital, owners of Charter NEX, have completed a definitive agreement with Dave Frecka, CEO, founder and owner of Next Generation Films, Inc. to combine the companies. Dave Frecka will be a major shareholder in the combined company and will continue as CEO of Next Generation Films. Kathy Bolhous will continue as the CEO of Charter NEX Films. The transaction is expected to close by June.
“Charter NEX and Next Generation Films share a dedication to outstanding quality, excellent service and innovation,” said Kathy Bolhous, CEO of Charter NEX. “By blending our complementary assets, capabilities and expertise, we will create a powerful value proposition for our customers. With these two companies combining forces, there’s no limit to what we can do for our customers.”
Charter NEX and Next Generation Films both have strong brands and state-of-the-art assets. But they also have complementary products and focus on different market segments. The combination is expected to provide both companies and their customers with significant benefits including access to new markets, enhanced technical expertise, and an expanded manufacturing footprint. The combined company will have 11 manufacturing plants and more than 100 extrusion lines in Ohio, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Massachusetts.
Charter NEX and Next Generation Films plan to maintain their existing management teams and brand identities, operating as two distinct but synchronized divisions of the combined company.
“By joining these two market leaders together, we will be able to offer customers a broader scope of capabilities and product solutions, while leveraging our combined scale to offer the most technically-engineered specialty films,” said Dave Frecka, CEO, founder and owner of Next Generation Films.
About Charter NEX Films, Inc.
Charter NEX is North America’s leading independent producer of high-performance specialty films used in flexible packaging and other end-use markets. Known for innovative products and world-class manufacturing capabilities, the company’s quality and expertise are unsurpassed. Its exclusive focus on film and relentless pursuit of excellence make it the ideal partner for any film need – from monolayer to multilayer, blown to cast, and breathable to barrier. Learn more at http://charternex.com/
About Next Generation Films, Inc.
Founded in 1994, NEXT supplies specialty films to a variety of markets, including the food packaging, automobile, courier, manufactured housing and protective packaging segments. By investing in the most advanced, high-end technologies and continually expanding its manufacturing capabilities, it has become one of America’s largest custom blown film companies, producing cutting-edge film structures that set new standards for quality across the country and around the world. Learn more at: https://www.nextgenfilms.com/
About Leonard Green & Partners
Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. (“LGP”) is a leading private equity investment firm founded in 1989 and based in Los Angeles. The firm partners with experienced management teams and often with founders to invest in market-leading companies. Since inception, LGP has invested in over 90 companies in the form of traditional buyouts, going-private transactions, recapitalizations, growth equity, and selective public equity and debt positions. LGP primarily focuses on companies providing services, including consumer, business, and healthcare services, as well as retail, distribution, and industrials. For more information, visit www.leonardgreen.com.
About Oak Hill Capital
Oak Hill Capital is a private equity firm managing funds with approximately $15 billion of initial capital commitments and co-investments since inception. Over the past 33 years, Oak Hill Capital and its predecessors have invested in over 90 private equity transactions across broad segments of the U.S. and global economies. Oak Hill Capital applies an industry-focused, theme-based approach to investing in the following sectors: Consumer, Retail & Distribution; Industrials; Media & Communications; and Services. For more information, please visit https://oakhill.com/.
Contacts
Charter NEX Films
Doug Latreille
Chief Commercial Officer
dlatreille@charternex.com
Next Generation Films
David Bubar
Chief Financial Officer
David.Bubar@nextgenfilms.com