MiBiz Growth Report: Oct. 16, 2017

MiBiz Growth Report: Oct. 16, 2017

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Oct. 16., 2017:

M&A

Battle Creek-based Kellogg Co. is bolstering its product portfolio with the acquisition of Chicago-based protein bar manufacturer Chicago Bar Co., the maker of RXBAR. In the deal, Kellogg will pay $600 million, or $400 million net of tax benefits, for the company, according to a statement. RXBAR sales are expected to reach $120 million this year. The deal value is estimated at 12-14 times RXBAR’s 2018 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), including the tax benefits, the company said. Excluding one-time charges related to the transaction, Kellogg anticipates the deal to be immaterial to its earnings per share this year and in 2018. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2017, after which RXBAR will con- tinue to operate as a standalone company.

Gordon Food Service Inc. has acquired York, Pa.-based Ettline Foods Corp., a 125-year-old, family-owned food distribution company. The deal will expand Gordon Food Service’s reach in the Mid-Atlantic region, according to a statement. Ettline serves health care facilities, schools and business customers in a four-state area. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Danville, Calif.-based PowerSphyr Inc., a developer of wireless charging technology, acquired Grand Rapids-based Gill Electronics, according to a statement. The deal came eight months after PowerSphyr signed a manufacturing agreement with Gill Electronics, as the company wanted to bring the production and engineering capabilities in house. Gill Electronics makes resonant magnetic systems, a form of commercial wireless charging infrastructure, used in PowerSphyr’s products. Combining the two companies’ capabilities “will accelerate time-to- market for products,” said PowerSphyr CEO David Meng. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Meng told MiBiz via email that the Gill Electronics operation will continue unchanged in the short term.

Grand Rapids-based private equity firm Concurrence Capital Holdings LLC closed on its first deal with an investment in Holland-based Mission Design & Automation LLC, a producer of automation systems for the automotive, office furniture, medical and consumer goods industries. Mission Design & Automation has been averaging annualized growth of 50 percent over the last few years. The company was actively seeking growth capital and willing to take on an investor, and its management team wanted to remain intact to run the business and grow. M&A firm NuVescor Group LLC of Grand Rapids represented Mission Design & Automation and introduced the investment opportunity to Concurrence Capital. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Cleveland-based Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has acquired full control over Ishpeming-based Tilden Mining Co., an active iron ore mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In the deal, Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE: CLF) agreed to pay $105 million in cash to acquire the remaining 15-percent equity stake held by Pittsburgh, Pa.-based U.S. Steel Corp. (NYSE: X), according to a statement. The acquisition closed on Sept. 29. Cleveland-Cliffs now maintains 100-percent ownership of the mine, which employs about 900 people in Ishpeming, located about 15 miles west of Marquette. Tilden mines, concentrates and pelletizes iron ore, as well as maintains a railroad operation in the U.P. In a statement, Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves described the deal to acquire U.S. Steel’s equity stake in Tilden Mining as “a risk free transaction” that will aid the development of a hot briquetted iron (HBI) production facility in Toledo, Ohio. Cleveland-Cliffs, which reported $2.1 billion in sales for the 2016 fiscal year, has managed the Tilden operation since 1974.

Marshall-based Marshall Excelsior Co. acquired BASE Engineering Inc. of New Brunswick, Canada. BASE designs and manufactures high-quality automated emergency shutdown and operational controls for the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and refined fuels industries, according to a statement. It sells in North America, Europe and Australia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Marshall Excelsior, a maker of engineered flow-control products, is a platform company of Harbour Group Industries Inc., a St. Louis, Mo.- based private equity firm. In July, Marshall Excelsior acquired the assets of Rockwall, Texas-based Koch & Associates Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of leak-detection systems and gas pressure regulators for the propane delivery industry.

Portage-based Benefit Administrative Services International Corp. (BASIC), a provider of third party employee benefits administration, has acquired Warwick, R.I.-based COBRA Administration & Health Services Inc., according to a statement. The acquisition will allow BASIC to expand into Rhode Island from its current territory of Michigan, Ohio, Arizona, Florida, California and Missouri. COBRA is an outsourced provider of COBRA and HIPAA administrative tasks. BASIC serves 15,000 employers with HR services ranging from flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement arrangements, health savings accounts and COBRA services.

Grand Rapids-based senior living provider Baruch Senior Ministries acquired assisted living centers in Blissfield and Tecumseh in Southeast Michigan, according to a statement. The deals follow the March acquisition of the Mallard Cove Assisted Living Center in Petoskey.

Expansion

Grand Rapids-based Neurocore LLC, a provider of neurofeedback brain training, opened a location in West Bloomfield. The center replaces a clinic in Bloomfield Hills. Neurocore offers a non-medical treatment for people with behavioral health issues such as depression, anxiety, stress, sleep disorders and migraines.