SSG Capital Advisors, LLC (“SSG”) acted as the investment banker to Walle Corporation (“Walle” or the “Company”) in the sale of substantially all of its assets to Fort Dearborn, a portfolio company of Advent International. The transaction closed in October 2019.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Walle Corporation is a manufacturer of printed labels, primarily for the food, beverage, and household products industries. The Company has two plant locations. Their New Orleans, Louisiana plant produces lithographic cut and stack paper as well as film labels and in-mold labels. Their Winchester, Kentucky plant produces flexographic roll-fed and shrink sleeve labels.

The Company had experienced dramatic top line growth since 2008 and had consistently reinvested in the business to maintain state-of-the-art production capabilities, which positioned it well for continued growth. However, certain non-recurring, external factors impacted production beginning in 2018, thereby constraining liquidity.

SSG was retained by Walle to conduct a comprehensive and expedited marketing process to solicit offers from strategic and financial buyers. Fort Dearborn’s offer ultimately provided the best value for all stakeholders. SSG’s industry knowledge and experience running efficient sale processes enabled the Company to maximize the value of the enterprise and seamlessly transition its operations to Fort Dearborn.

Fort Dearborn is a supplier of high impact decorative labels based in Elk Grove, Illinois. Fort Dearborn is a portfolio company of Advent International, a leading global private equity firm.

Other professionals who worked on the transaction include:

• Michael J. Musso, John W. Cannon, Harry D. Bramson and Christy Roper of Conway Mackenzie, Inc., Chief Restructuring Officer and financial advisor to Walle Corporation;
• Ronald E. Gold, Jason D. Tonne, Joseph S. McVicker, Molly F. McCartney and Michael J. O’Grady of Frost Brown Todd LLC, counsel to Walle Corporation;
• Jason Karl, Kevin Feinblum and Elliott Ismail of Advent International Corporation, owner of Fort Dearborn;
• Richard S. Meller of Fox, Swibel, Levin & Carroll, LLP, counsel to Fort Dearborn; and
• Jeff French, Phil DiBuono and Robert Weaver of RSM US LLP, accounting advisor to Fort Dearborn.