Ritus Corporation & Vanseal Corporation

Grace Matthews advised the shareholders of Ritus Corporation, including its subsidiary Classic Molding Company, and Vanseal Corporation (VRC Holdings Inc., or “VRC”) on the sale of VRC to Blue Point Capital Partners (“Blue Point”).

VRC was founded in 1963 and consists of Ritus Corporation, its subsidiary Classic Molding Company, and Vanseal Corporation. The companies operate under the same management team and support one another to deliver products that provide the best overall value for their customers. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, VRC is a value-added manufacturer of custom-molded rubber, plastic, and sealing components. VRC designs and manufactures a variety of products including mission-critical seals, wiring grommets, tubing and molded thermoplastics primarily for the aerospace & defense, automotive, industrial, oil & gas, marine and medical end markets.

VRC’s shareholders engaged Grace Matthews to explore a sale process that would help them identify a partner capable of supporting VRC’s next phase of growth while also providing liquidity to shareholders. Grace Matthews conducted a process for VRC that included outreach to a variety of potential strategic and private equity buyers. The process generated a significant amount of interest, and multiple groups were invited to participate in management meetings and perform due diligence.  Supported by a tightly-managed process timeline, VRC received multiple offers and was well-positioned to choose from several high-quality potential partners.

The shareholders elected to enter into a transaction with Blue Point Capital Partners, a Cleveland-based private equity group with extensive experience in the rubber molding industry. The transaction provided liquidity to VRC’s shareholders while allowing management to maintain a significant ownership in the business and brought VRC an experienced partner committed to executing VRC’s growth strategy. With several growth initiatives planned to expand VRC, both Blue Point and VRC’s management envision a bright future for VRC as a global leader in its chosen markets.