Arsenal Capital Partners Announces Investment In Elite Foam, Inc. And Agreement To Acquire HSM's Foam Production Assets

Pacific Urethanes, Elite Foam and HSM's Foam Production Assets will be combined under the Elite Comfort Solutions name to form a Leading Specialty Foam Platform

NEW YORK – Arsenal Capital Partners (Arsenal), a leading New York-based private equity firm that invests in middle-market specialty industrial and healthcare companies, announced today the majority investment in Elite Foam, Inc. (Elite Foam) and the signing of a definitive agreement with Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company (HSM) to acquire its foam production assets (HSM Foam). Earlier in March, Arsenal announced its investment in Pacific Urethanes LLC (Pacific Urethanes), a leading developer and producer of specialty polyurethane foam materials.

Headquartered in Newnan, Georgia, Elite Foam is a leading developer and manufacturer of specialty foam for the bedding and home furnishings industry. Its portfolio of technologies includes high air flow and convective cooling of open cell foam through the CoolFlow™ brand and conductive cooling of foams through the ThermaGel™ brand. Pete Wallace, President of Elite Foam who will remain with the business, said, “I am excited about the merger of Pacific Urethanes and Elite Foam. This merger, along with the acquisition of HSM Foam, will ensure the essential manufacturing capabilities required to meet our customers’ continuously growing and expanding business.” David Wright, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Elite Foam, added, “This new relationship will now enable Elite Comfort Solutions to support nationally our existing customers and offer unique technologies on a broader scale in new and evolving industries.”

Headquartered in Conover, North Carolina, HSM Foam is one of the largest producers of flexible polyurethane foam in North America. HSM Foam provides hundreds of foam formulations for furniture, bedding, medical and packaging market applications. Its range of products includes Code*RedII® combustion inhibitive foam, EnduroFoam® premium performance foam and Preserve®, the first bio-based polyurethane foam. HSM Foam’s operations are located in North Carolina (Conover), Arkansas (Fort Smith), Mississippi (Verona), California (Commerce) and Georgia (Americus). David Underdown, Chairman of HSM stated, “HSM will remain a major fabricator of foam products for its existing as well as new customers in the furniture, bedding, medical and packaging markets. This transaction will enable HSM to strengthen its leading market positions in its transportation seating, foam fabrication, specialty spring, wire and metal products businesses”. Mark Jones, President and CEO of HSM added, “This is an exciting time for HSM as we build on our 70 year history of providing innovative products and solutions to our diverse customer base.” HSM’s foam fabrication operations will continue to be supported by Elite Comfort Solutions. The HSM Foam asset purchase is subject to customary conditions to closing and is expected to close early in the second quarter of 2016.

Through the combination of Pacific Urethanes, Elite Foam, and HSM Foam, Arsenal is building Elite Comfort Solutions into a leading specialty foam platform. Elite Comfort Solutions will have an initial national network of 10 production facilities and the company will leverage its range of technologies and product innovation across the consolidated company. The management teams at each of the three businesses will continue to operate under Elite Comfort Solutions.

“We partnered with the management teams of Elite Foam, Pacific Urethanes and HSM Foam to bring together these three complementary players in the specialty foam industry,” said John Televantos, a Partner at Arsenal and Co-Head of the firm’s Specialty Industrials Group.

Timothy Zappala, a Partner at Arsenal and Co-Head of the firm’s Specialty Industrials Group, said “Recognizing the importance of regional presence, yet conformity of quality and real-time service, the combination of these businesses has immediately created a leading foam company with the scale and range of product technologies desired to support our growing customer needs anywhere in North America.”

About Arsenal Capital Partners
Arsenal Capital Partners is a leading New York-based private equity firm that invests in middle market healthcare and specialty industrial companies. Arsenal makes investments in sectors where the firm has significant prior knowledge and experience. Arsenal targets businesses that have the potential for further value creation, and works closely with management to accelerate growth by leveraging the firm’s industry focus and operational improvement capabilities. Arsenal currently manages $2.6 billion of committed equity capital. For additional information on Arsenal Capital Partners, please visit www.arsenalcapital.com.