Olympus Steps up to the Plate: Sells Waddington to Jarden

STAMFORD, Conn., July 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Stamford, CT based private equity firm Olympus Partners is pleased to announce the signing of definitive documentation to sell The Waddington Group to Jarden Corporation for $1.35 billion, subject to working capital and other customary adjustments.  The Waddington Group is a major global packaging manufacturer and marketer primarily serving the foodservice and retail industry.  The Waddington Group goes to market through four divisions: U.S.-based WNA, Canadian based PolarPak, U.K.-based Waddington Europe and Boulder, CO based ECO Products.  The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015.

"Olympus has been a great partner to The Waddington Group by supporting our expansion into new markets and new geographies through aggressive growth capital and strategic and targeted acquisitions," commented Mike Evans, CEO of The Waddington Group.  "With Olympus' support, we have been able to grow the business close to 300% over the past three years and we are well positioned to continue our strong growth and momentum."

Manu Bettegowda, a partner at Olympus, also commented that  "We have been fortunate to partner with a very talented and experienced management team led by Mike Evans to help them drive the growth of the business and to further solidify their strengths and broaden their product offerings to the marketplace.  The Waddington Group is extremely well positioned to continue its stellar growth.  We look forward to watching the team continue to drive that growth and market leadership under Jarden Corp."

Founded in 1988, Olympus Partners is a private equity firm focused on providing equity capital for management buyouts and for companies needing capital for expansion.  Olympus' primary investment thesis is to back high quality management teams in their growth plans with strategic advice and capital.  Olympus is an active, long-term investor across a broad range of industries, including restaurants, consumer products, healthcare services, financial services and business services. Olympus manages in excess of $5.5 billion primarily on behalf of corporate pension funds, endowment funds and state-sponsored retirement programs.

The Olympus team included Manu Bettegowda, Mike Horgan and Jackie Bereiter.  The Waddington Group was represented in the sale by Barclays and Goldman Sachs with legal representation from Kirkland & Ellis.

SOURCE Olympus Partners