Edge Adhesives

Edge Adhesives, or ‘Edge’, is a developer and manufacturer of adhesives, sealants, tapes, gaskets, and related materials for the construction, transportation, electrical, HVAC, and other markets. By combining significant formulation and production expertise across multiple facilities and technology platforms with the ability to formulate, compound, extrude, coat, and convert products, Edge developed and commercialized a number of products that are currently recognized as leaders in their respective market niches.

After acquiring the initial platform company in 2010, Superior Capital Partners, the majority owner of Edge, and Edge’s CEO had successfully integrated a number of acquisitions and achieved substantial cost savings and organic growth. In the summer of 2013, ownership began considering potential exit options and ultimately engaged Grace Matthews to run a sale process targeted at a select group of strategic and private equity buyers.

After working with ownership to position and prepare the company for sale, Grace Matthews was tasked with finding a group of buyers that would value the business off of significant, yet defensible, increased future performance. As such, Grace Matthews leveraged industry relationships to contact the best potential strategic acquirers that could benefit from Edge’s manufacturing footprint, technology and diverse product portfolio. Grace Matthews also contacted a number of targeted private equity groups, interested and familiar with the space, who could acquire the company and deploy additional capital and management resources to continue building upon an already rapid growth trajectory.

The result was a timely, efficient sales process that was quite competitive, and included numerous interested strategic and private equity groups. In partnership with Akoya Capital, the Gladstone Companies acquired Edge Adhesives in February 2014. Gladstone and Akoya brought in several key industry executives early in the process that were able to help them understand the value proposition and growth opportunities, which allowed them to get comfortable with the ultimate valuation.

The final value of the transaction matched the high expectations of the sellers, and the management team of Edge (which included a significant roll from the CEO into Newco) was very pleased with its new equity partner. This all-around positive outcome underscores the need for a well-managed and executed sale process.