Ara Partners Acquires Genera, Inc.

June 2022 – England Securities served as acquisition & restructuring advisor to Ara Partners (“Ara”), in its acquisition of Genera, Inc (“Genera”).

Ara is a private equity firm specializing in industrial decarbonization investments. Ara invests in the industrial & manufacturing, chemicals & materials, energy efficiency & green fuels, and food & agriculture sectors, seeking to build businesses that are focused on sustainability and ESG principles.

“Genera was a complicated transaction that required the England & Company team, working closely with Ara Partners and other advisors, to create a mutually beneficial acquisition and restructuring,” said Troy Thacker, Managing Partner of Ara. “It’s a tremendous benefit to work with a trusted, capable partner on complicated situations that require out-of-the-box creative structuring.”

Genera’s facility, once fully operational, will process agricultural crops such as switchgrass into ag-based fiber and the Earthable® line of sustainable food-grade, compostable packaging. The facility, which is the largest fully integrated domestic solution for ag-based fiber and food packaging in North America, will host 160 employees at full production.

Market Insights- Accelerating Value-Based Healthcare: Primary Care

The stress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic on U.S. healthcare is unprecedented, impacting every individual. It has further revealed the inadequacy of our unsustainable, volume-based, fee-for-service delivery and reimbursement model. England & Company’s healthcare investment banking team believes a rapid acceleration of value-based healthcare and supporting technologies has begun in response to this issue. The transformation to a value-based delivery model will result in entire sectors being diminished, while new ones emerge and expand. This report highlights just a few sectors we believe will provide the greatest opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors in the coming months.

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Additive Orthopaedics Acquired by Paragon 28

Additive Orthopaedics has sold its product lines to Paragon 28, Inc. England Securities served as Additive’s exclusive financial advisor. This represents England’s second M&A transaction in foot and ankle orthopedics this year and serves to further establish the firm as the leading investment bank for this sector.

Additive Orthopaedics, based in Little Silver, NJ, leverages state-of-the-art 3D metal printing technology to design, manufacture, and market patient-specific and off-the-shelf implants specializing in complex reconstructions, implant revisions, and limb salvage procedures.

This transaction included their 3D-printed Patient Specific Talus Spacer, approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this February, and Additive’s internally developed, proprietary pre-operative surgical planning application.

“Additive had significant buyer interest, so the Board decided to hire England & Company because of their demonstrated expertise and track record in foot & ankle orthopedics,” said Tony Dimun, a Director of Additive Orthopaedics. “England performed an excellent job in creating strategic alternatives.”

Paragon 28 exclusively serves the foot-and-ankle surgical community and is dedicated to enhancing patient outcomes by advancing the science and research behind innovative technologies. The addition of Additive Orthopaedics’ assets bolsters Paragon 28’s Precision Ankle Solutions product offerings. With this comprehensive portfolio, Paragon 28 provides its customers innovative ankle solutions for trauma, arthritis, and limb salvage.

Ramzi Nassar Joins England & Company’s Energy Investment Banking Team

Ramzi Nassar, Managing DirectorMay 2021 – England & Company, a leading middle-market investment bank, announced today that Ramzi Nassar has joined the firm’s Houston office as a Managing Director on its Energy & Industrial Growth Investment Banking team. Mr. Nassar marks the fourth member of England’s dedicated Energy & Industrial Growth leadership team and represents significantly expanded capability for the firm’s clientele in the oil and gas sector.

Mr. Nassar has over 20 years of experience advising a wide variety of companies on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic financing opportunities including debt and equity transactions. Mr. Nassar joins England from B. Riley Securities where he was a Senior Managing Director and Head of Energy Services Investment Banking. Prior to that, he was a Managing Director and Head of Energy Investment Banking for Oppenheimer & Co.

“I’m honored to join the team at England & Company and look forward to leveraging the platform to deliver high-touch, purposeful advisory and capital markets solutions to clients in the public and private arenas,” Mr. Nassar said.

“The energy sector faces a rapidly evolving landscape where established energy companies are being impacted by new technologies, new entrants, and new business models,” said Craig England, CEO of England & Company. “Ramzi’s deep experience in the industry positions us well to partner with upstream, midstream, and downstream oil & gas companies, as well as transitional and renewable energy enterprises, to guide them through this long-term period of disruption, consolidation, and convergence.”

MedDevNews, Q1 2021

Q1 2021 Saw Overall Growth in Transaction Activity

The rise in M&A activity and continued financing activity in Q1 was a function of improved buyer and investor optimism as patient volumes and surgical procedures began to rebound. Half of our tracked sectors in the medical device space witnessed positive stock price momentum against the S&P 500, which brings greater access to financing options and boosts appetites for M&A.

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Micatu Secures $15 Million Growth Financing

England Securities is pleased to announce that it served as the exclusive placement agent for Micatu, Incorporated (“Micatu”) in its $15 million growth financing transactions. Micatu, an optical sensing solution provider, has received $10 million in preferred equity from Wave Equity Partners and $5 million in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”).

The financing builds on the company’s growing momentum to change the way the world senses with light. Their next-generation solution for the measurement of voltage, current, vibration, and temperature is making waves in the industry. Micatu’s GridView utility platform solution enables lower-cost and safer deployments, maximizes integration of renewable energy, and increases data awareness for grid resilience.

“We are extremely pleased to partner with the team at England & Company for these transactions and to execute our capital plans and strategic opportunities going forward,” said Michael Oshetski, CEO and President of Micatu. “They have terrific depth of expertise and keen insights into the power infrastructure and industrial technology markets we look to disrupt and the processes we look to optimize. They are particularly attuned to where the industry is headed with the energy transition, DERs, and the grid-edge sensors and AI driven automation technologies necessary to modernize the grid for a sustainable future.”

“England & Company understands what we’re trying to accomplish and communicates with the investment community and strategic partners very effectively,” Michael Sexton, COO and Executive Vice President of Micatu, said. “Their team matches industry expertise with deep transaction experience in raising and structuring equity and all varieties of credit, which led us to long-term partnerships with Wave Equity and SVB. They did an exceptional job and played an instrumental role in optimizing the terms of the transactions and the outcomes for us. We received partner-level attention throughout and great support from their entire team.”

Wave Equity Partners is a Boston-based private equity firm that accelerates market validated companies solving some of the world’s greatest challenges in essential markets for clean energy, water, waste, food, and clean air. Wave specializes in breakthrough innovations in hard tech and manufacturing.

For more than 35 years, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has helped innovative companies and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB provides targeted financial services and expertise through its offices in innovation centers around the world. With commercial, international and private banking services, SVB helps address the unique needs of innovators.

Beckwith Electric Company Acquired By Hubbell Utility Solutions

February 8, 2021– England Securities is pleased to announce that it recently served as the exclusive financial advisor to Beckwith Electric Co., Inc. in its sale to the Hubbell Utility Solutions division of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE: HUBB). Beckwith Electric is a premier manufacturer of protection and control products for electric utility and industrial markets world-wide. Designed and manufactured in Largo, Florida, Beckwith’s technology solutions are key elements in the rapidly growing market for advanced distribution automation infrastructure and the integration of distributed energy resources among leading electric utilities.

The acquisition of Beckwith enhances Hubbell’s overall existing product portfolio and increases its capabilities in advanced distribution automation technology sold to utility customers. Beckwith is the first acquisition of Hubbell’s new Utility Solutions business unit, focused on protection and control in the utility market.

This transaction represents the fifth transaction in the utility products market for England Securities since November 2019.

About England & Company

England & Company is a leading independent investment bank that provides strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and restructurings, and capital markets transactions to owners, executives, and boards of directors of domestic and international companies. The firm’s clients include leading companies in the Business Services, Energy & Industrial Growth, Healthcare, and Technology markets. Founded in 2003, England serves its clients through offices in Houston, New York, and Washington, DC.

Investment banking services are provided by England Securities LLC, a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC.