Continuing its strong reputation for being a preferred ABL partner for sponsor-backed transactions, GBC has strengthened its relationship with a private equity group that acquired a leading North American supplement manufacturer.
GBC provided Lion Equity Partners, a Denver-based private equity firm specializing in corporate divestitures and special situations, financing to support the acquisition of Country Life, LLC. Country Life was acquired from a subsidiary of Kikkoman, the company that sells the leading soy sauce brand and related products. Country Life operates a portfolio of brands in the natural supplements, sports nutrition, and personal care markets, including Country Life Vitamins, Desert Essence Personal Care, and Biochem Protein.
The transaction allowed Lion Equity Partners to secure a $26.4MM senior credit facility to support the acquisition, enabling the company to continue its mission of creating value for its portfolio and stakeholders.
Long-Standing Partnership to Support Sponsor-Backed Transactions
This acquisition financing represents the third instance that GBC and Lion Equity have partnered in a transaction, underscoring GBC’s reliability in supporting financial sponsors. The financing was primarily secured by accounts receivable, inventory, machinery and equipment, and real estate but also included an overadvance to unlock additional liquidity to facilitate the transaction.
GBC’s long-standing relationship with the private equity group, combined with its unique ability to provide an ABL through the firm’s real estate assets, demonstrated GBC’s financial covenant flexibility and borrowing base creativity.
“As a trusted partner of Lion Equity Partners, we knew GBC would be able to move quickly, meet our needs, and deliver a certainty of close,” said Ari Silverman, Co-Founder and Partner of Lion Equity Partners. “We have been continually impressed by the ability of Gibraltar’s team to think outside the box and support our liquidity needs with less restrictive structures.”
