Graham Boosts NDS Portfolio –

Graham Partners last month committed an undisclosed amount to two add-on acquisitions, Flo Control Inc. and Raindrip Inc. for its portfolio company National Diversified Sales Inc.. Debt financing for the transaction was provided by Bank of Nova Scotia.

“The NDS management team has a lot of contacts in the industry and these companies were candidates that were identified by the management team prior to our acquisition,” said Rob Newbold, a principal at Graham Partners and a member of the board of directors at NDS.

Newbold said the acquisitions will allow for operating synergies such as the consolidation of purchases of resin, which is one of the larger costs of the operation. “There will also be manufacturing and top-line synergies as a result of the acquisitions,” he said.

Flo Control is a manufacturer of branded plastic fittings used in the irrigation and pool and spa industries. Raindrip is a manufacturer of branded plastic irrigation products. The combined entity of NDS, Flo Control and Raindrip have approximately $90 million in revenue per annum.

“There will now be opportunities to sell to more customers and push products through to NDS’ national distribution network,” said Newbold. Graham had originally committed capital last February to acquire a majority stake in National Diversified Sales (Buyouts Feb. 21, 2000, p. 16).