FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 4, 2004
Contact: Bob Brannigan
Prospect Partners Invests in Knight Paper Box Company
Recapitalization Sets Stage For Further Growth of Specialty Folding Carton Manufacturer
CHICAGO, Ill.—October 4, 2004: Prospect Partners, LLC of Chicago, Illinois is proud to announce its investment in Knight Paper Box Company, also of Chicago. Knight designs and manufactures printed folding cartons for a variety of customers in the confectionary and consumer-products industries.
In the recapitalization, Prospect Partners teamed with Knight owner and President Thomas D. Kemp and outside investor Donald C. McCann of Memphis, Tennessee.
Mr. Kemp, who has led the forty-year-old Knight since 1985, will continue as President and as a major investor and shareholder in the company. All of Knight’s management team and employees will remain in their current roles.
“Tom Kemp runs a great company with a genuine focus on customer service. We’re very pleased to be Tom’s partner and are looking forward to helping him continue to grow his business,” says William V. Glastris, Jr., a principal at Prospect Partners.
Adds Mr. Kemp: “The new partnership is great news for Knight, for our employees and for our customers. We’ve been thinking about the future of this company for a long time. The new capital from Prospect Partners along with the industry experience of Don McCann, will serve all of us well in the months and years to come as we expand our operations and our customer base and focus on building our position as a leading niche folding carton business.”
Packaging industry veteran Don McCann was formerly the CEO of ELM Packaging Company and a director and investor with Prospect Partners in Wrap Pack Products Corporation, a tissue wrap and molded fiber tray manufacturer serving the fruit and vegetable, wine and egg industries. Mr. McCann will serve as a director on Knight’s board focused on growth initiatives.
Knight, which will operate under the name of Knight Packaging Group, Inc., provides services to a variety of confectionary and consumer-products customers nationwide, including Tootsie Roll Industries, Ferrara Pan Candy Co., Russell Stover Candies, Home Run Inn Pizza, Sanford Ink, a division of Newell Rubbermaid, and Alva Pharmaceutical.
For Prospect Partners, Knight represents the company’s 39th investment and 19th platform. It also is Prospect’s fourth investment in a specialty packaging manufacturer.
Prospect Partners will continue to seek add-on acquisitions of other specialty folding-carton manufacturers.
About Prospect Partners
Prospect Partners, LLC of Chicago is a private equity firm managing two funds totaling $270 million. Prospect Partners’ investment focus is on management-led leveraged acquisitions of unique lower-middle market firms with niche strategies. The firm’s investment interests span a variety of niche consumer, commercial, specialty distribution and service markets throughout the United States.
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