Article

Nautic Partners Announces Acquisition of Harrington Industrial Plastics in Partnership with Management

Providence, RI

Nautic Partners, LLC (“Nautic”) is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of Harrington Industrial Plastics (“Harrington”), in partnership with Harrington management.

Founded in 1959, Harrington is a leading distributor of corrosion-resistant fluid conveyance, control, and measurement products for industrial fluids and high purity applications (e.g., valves, filters, pumps, and tanks). Harrington’s products are used in a variety of end markets, and the company focuses on corrosive applications that generally require higher end specialty products. The company is a vital supply chain partner to its vendors and serves a diverse set of customers including contractors, OEMs and other product end users across a number of markets including water treatment/wastewater, chemicals, institutions, labs, and food and beverage production. Harrington has a strong competitive position in its highly fragmented market, which has resulted in long-term above-market growth, strong customer retention, and high customer satisfaction.

“We are delighted to have found in Nautic a like-minded partner.  Harrington has been growing at rates well above the market for several years based on our strategy of providing superior customer service, local product availability, and a level of product and application expertise that is unrivalled in the industry.  We look forward to working in close partnership with Nautic to cement these advantages and to continue our strong growth,” said Eben Lenderking, CEO of Harrington.

Chris Pierce, a Managing Director of Nautic, said, “Harrington has a deep, experienced management team that has accelerated the business’s growth trajectory over recent years and has a great culture across the organization.  We are thrilled to partner with them to support the company’s continued organic growth, as well as to pursue selective acquisitions in Harrington’s fragmented market.  Additionally, we’re excited to add another investment to our distribution portfolio within Nautic’s Industrials group.”

Sean Wieland, a Principal of Nautic, continued, “Harrington is a leader in its market and provides a strong value proposition to its customer base rooted in a solutions-based approach as well as product breadth and availability.  We believe the company has significant runway to continue to capitalize on its position of scale in the market to continue to provide value to its customers and grow the company, and we are excited to work with the management team on those efforts.”

McDermott Will & Emery LLP represented Nautic in the transaction and Jefferies Finance LLC, Varagon Capital Partners L.P., and AEA Debt Management LP provided the financing for the transaction. Jefferies LLC and Mayer Brown advised Harrington.

About Harrington

Harrington has been a leading distributor of industrial products for corrosive and high purity applications since 1959. The success of Harrington is built upon a clear set of operating principles which equally value its customers, suppliers, and employees. For more information please visit www.hipco.com.

Certain statements about Nautic made by portfolio company executives herein are intended to illustrate Nautic’s business relationship with such persons, including with respect to Nautic’s facilities as a business partner, rather than Nautic’s capabilities or expertise with respect to investment advisory services. Portfolio company executives were not compensated in connection with their participation, although they generally receive compensation and investment opportunities in connection with their portfolio company roles, and in certain cases are also owners of portfolio company securities and/or investors in Nautic-sponsored vehicles. Such compensation and investments subject participants to potential conflicts of interest in making the statements herein.