%20(1).png){kind=logo}
.png){kind=logo}
SOUTHPORT, Connecticut, September 9, 2011 - Carter Morse & Mathias ("CMM") is pleased to announce the closing of a $25,000,000 debt financing for Cranston Print Works ("Cranston"). Funding was provided through a combination of a $19,500,000 of senior secured revolving facility provided by Wells Fargo Capital Finance and a $5,500,000 term loan provided by an affiliate of Woodside Capital Management. This combined financing allowed the company to refinance its existing debt and will provide sufficient working capital to allow the company to execute its multi-year business plan.
Carter Morse & Mathias served as Cranston's exclusive financial advisor for the financing transaction. Cranston Print Works is a 200 year old ESOP owned company with diversified operations in Rhode Island, New York and Louisiana. The business is comprised of three distinct operations: the Chemical Division, operating as Bercen, Inc., that manufactures and sells specialty chemical products, particularly alkyl succinic anhydride (ASA) and specialty coatings for use in the paper making, paper coating and paper converting industries; the Textile Division that designs, markets and sells branded and licensed fabrics for quilting, craft and home decorative applications through mass merchants and independent retailers under owned, licensed and private label brands; and the Cranston Trucking Division which is a less than truckload (LTL) carrier serving the East Coast and California markets.
Fred Rockefeller, President and CEO of Cranston, commented: "Cranston is a complex company, having evolved over many generations, that is well positioned for growth in all of its operating divisions. We are excited about our new relationship with these two institutional partners that recognize the opportunities in front of us and have the resources to provide the requisite capital to finance our plan."
Frank Morse, Managing Director of CMM, explained, "We are honored that a long standing client engaged us again to facilitate such a critical strategic transaction. In this case the refinancing has been particularly gratifying because it was closed in the midst of serious economic uncertainty and an unusually challenging credit environment. This transaction is another example of our expertise in executing complex transactions, either financings or M&A, in the middle market."
