Monomoy Pays Down Cost Of Add-On

Turnaround specialist Monomoy Capital Partners recouped some of the cost of an add-on acquisition and took itself a step closer to refinancing a portfolio company by selling part of Indiana Glass Co., which makes vases and other decorative glassware.

New York-based Monomoy Capital’s portfolio company, The Anchor Hocking Co., recently sold the E.O. Brody Company, the distribution side of Indiana Glass, to Syndicate Sales Inc., another glassware distributor. Monomoy Capital acquired Anchor Hocking in April. Anchor Hocking, in turn, acquired Indiana Glass in November, with financial backing from Monomoy Capital.

Prior to Anchor Hocking’s acquisition of Indiana Glass, Monomoy Capital management reasoned that there was a good chance they could sell the E.O. Brody division to Syndicate Sales, said Stephen Presser, partner at Monomoy Capital. Syndicate Sales executives actually had approached Monomoy Capital and proposed the two entities buy Indiana Glass together, though Syndicate Sales did not want anything to do with Indiana Glass’s glass factory, Presser said.

Monomoy Capital and Syndicate Sales began talks about the sale of E.O. Brody in December, a month after Anchor Hocking acquired Indiana Glass, Presser said.

“We were perfectly happy to run the Brody business ourselves,” he said. “But it made a whole lot of sense to sell to Syndicate and concentrate on the glass [manufacturing].”

Presser cited numerous benefits in the deal for Monomoy Capital. For one, it enabled Monomoy Capital to recoup some of the money it invested in Indiana Glass. The price for E.O. Brody was nearly as much as the entire Indiana Glass acquisition, Presser said, though he declined to discuss specifics. It also put the firm in a better position to refinance Anchor Hocking, though Presser declined to say when the firm may do that. Also, as part of the transaction, Syndicate Sales agreed to buy floral glassware from Anchor Hocking under a multi-year supply agreement.—B.V.