Cleveland, OH and Boston, MA – MPE Partners (“MPE” or “Morgenthaler Private Equity”), along with portfolio company DecoArt, LLC (“DecoArt”) of Stanford, KY, announced the acquisition of Jack Richeson & Co., Inc. (“Jack Richeson” or the “Company”) of Kimberly, WI. Jack Richeson is a leading manufacturer and distributor of artist materials, including easels, stretcher bars, artist colors, and paper products serving the fine art and education markets.
MPE and DecoArt partnered in the transaction with the Richeson family, who will remain in their roles as leaders of Jack Richeson. Nick Stender, Vice President at MPE, said, “Jack Richeson has developed a reputation for delivering high quality products that exceed customer expectations. We saw a great fit between DecoArt and Jack Richeson and believe their shared capabilities will accelerate the growth of the combined companies.”
Joe Machado, Partner at MPE, added, “The acquisition is an excellent example of the value MPE’s partnership with DecoArt has created, providing the capital required to make growth investments and the transaction expertise required to complete acquisitions. We are looking forward to partnering with the Jack Richeson team to execute on attractive growth opportunities.”
Jonathan Kane, CEO of DecoArt, said, “Jack Richeson is a leader in the fine art and education markets. The Company has a strong brand name with a complementary product offering and will be a very welcome addition to the DecoArt family. We are looking forward to working together to support growth with the current customer base, target new customers, and enhance our product offerings with Jack Richeson’s diverse product offering.” Darren Richeson, President of Jack Richeson, added, “Jack Richeson has built a reputation of being a market leading supplier to its customers over the last four decades and Jack Richeson customers will see no changes in how we serve them. We look forward to partnering with DecoArt and MPE and leveraging their financial and operational resources to accelerate our growth.”
Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff served as legal counsel for DecoArt. Cornerstone Business Services acted as the investment banking advisor and DeWitt served as legal counsel to Jack Richeson. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Jack Richeson
Headquartered in Kimberly, WI, Jack Richeson is a leading manufacturer and distributor of artist materials, including easels, stretcher bars, artist colors, and paper products serving the fine art and education markets. For more information, please visit www.richesonart.com.
About DecoArt
Headquartered in Stanford, KY with an additional location in Lexington, KY, DecoArt is a leading manufacturer of paints and finishes for arts, crafts, and home decorating applications. For more information, please visit www.decoart.com.
About MPE Partners
MPE Partners (“MPE” or “Morgenthaler Private Equity”) seeks to be the preferred partner for entrepreneur- and family-owned companies. Based in Cleveland, OH, and Boston, MA, MPE invests in profitable, lower middle market companies with transaction values up to $250 million. MPE has two primary target investment areas: high-value manufacturing and commercial & industrial services. For more information, please visit www.mpepartners.com.
Media contact:
Nick Stender
nstender*AT*mpepartners.com