Carlyle Group acquires Novolex

The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm headquartered in Washington, has acquired Novolex, a company focused on packaging. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the transaction is expected to close before year end, The Carlyle Group says.

Windpoint Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, is the majority shareholder in Novolex; while TPG Growth, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, and in San Francisco, owns a minority stake in the company.

“This is the next big step for Novolex and we could not be more pleased to join The Carlyle Group,” says Stan Bikulege, chairman and CEO of Novolex. “We are deeply grateful to Wind Point Partners and TPG Growth for their steadfast support and leadership over the last four years. We would not be where we are today without them.”

Novolex will retain its name and become one of the companies in the Carlyle portfolio of investments. There will be no interruption of its operations and the Novolex management team will remain in place, the private equity group says. 

“Novolex is a great company with strong market positions and long-standing customer relationships,” says Wes Bieligk, a principal on Carlyle’s U.S. buyout team. “We are excited to partner with Stan (Bikulege) and the Novolex team to support the company’s growth initiatives.”

Alex Washington, Wind Point Partners’ managing director, says, “Since we acquired Novolex in 2012, together we have achieved our value creation plan for Novolex by growing revenue from $500 million to over $2 billion and increasing profitability through new products, conversion cost reduction and five transformative add-on acquisitions. This has been a great partnership and we wish all involved in this transaction continued success.”

Equity for the acquisition will come from Carlyle Partners VI, a $13 billion U.S. buyout fund.

Brands operating under the Novolex name include Hilex Poly, Fortune Plastics, Duro Bag, Bagcraft Packaging, De Luxe Packaging, General Packaging Products, International Converter, Novolex Custom Film & Bag (formerly AccuTech, Direct Plastics and Hilex Poly Garland) and Heritage Bag.