Wind Point Partners Acquires Paragon Films
Wind Point invests in leading manufacturer of stretch films
Chicago, IL, December 12, 2016 – Wind Point Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, announced today that it has acquired Paragon Films (“Paragon”). Headquartered in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Paragon is a market leading manufacturer of high performance cast stretch films that are principally used to unitize loads while in storage and transit. The Company operates three manufacturing facilities in Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Washington state.
Paragon was founded in 1988 by industry pioneer, Mike Baab, who is highly regarded for his focus on producing technologically advanced stretch films, most notably the ability to provide higher performing load containment through thinner gauged films. Mike will remain a significant investor and Paragon board member.
Mike Baab stated, “Wind Point is the perfect fit with Paragon’s culture and core values. This partnership will provide Paragon with the opportunity to pursue tremendous growth and will benefit our customers and employees which was my most important goal as I begin to transition into retirement. I am thankful that Wind Point will allow Paragon to continue its vision and goals.”
Additionally, Wind Point is partnering with Stan Bikulege, who will serve as Paragon’s non-executive Chairman and board member, and Darin Tang who will join Paragon as CEO. Stan is a Wind Point advisor and the current Chairman and CEO of Novolex, a manufacturer of flexible paper and plastic packaging products. Wind Point invested in Hilex Poly (Novolex’s predecessor) in 2012 and under Stan’s leadership grew the company from $500 million to over $2.0 billion in revenue. Darin Tang was most recently Senior Vice President of Strategic Packaging Solutions ($2.8 billion) at Veritiv, a leading North American paper and packaging distributor. Prior to Veritiv, Darin served as President of Unisource Worldwide’s Packaging Solutions Group ($1.3B billion) and oversaw over 650 employees across multiple countries.
Alex Washington, a Managing Director at Wind Point, stated, “We are excited to acquire Paragon and invest in the next phase of its growth. Mike Baab has built a phenomenal company with best-in-class technical leadership. Wind Point has a proven strategy of working with family-owned companies to navigate leadership transition. With Stan and Darin’s complementary experience and track records for creating value in the packaging and industrial film markets, we look forward to continued success.”
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of this great organization,” stated Darin Tang. “I look forward to working with the Paragon team and building upon the platform that Mike Baab has built. Paragon’s reputation and product portfolio are a fantastic foundation for Paragon’s future growth.”
Wind Point is an active investor in the packaging industry. Select recent investments include Burrows Paper (announced), Heritage Bag (2016), Wisconsin Film & Bag (2015), Duro Bag (2014), and Packaging Dynamics (2014).
Financing for the transaction was provided by Antares Holdings, BMO Capital Markets, Newstar Financial, BlackRock Capital, and Northwestern Mutual Capital. DLA Piper represented Wind Point as legal counsel and KPMG provided transaction advisory services on the transaction. Adams and Reese represented Paragon as legal counsel and Blaige & Company served as financial advisor to Paragon.