Stout is advising Heartwood Partners Inc. (“Heartwood”) on its sale of Parkway Products LLC (“Parkway” or the “Company”), a leader in five niche process technologies utilized to produce high-performance precision plastic and metal components, to Clayens NP Group (“Clayens”), a portfolio company of One Equity Partners (“OEP”). The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023 subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Stout is serving as the exclusive sell-side financial advisor to Heartwood and Parkway in connection with the transaction.

Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, Parkway is a leading manufacturer of complex, high-performance precision plastic and metal components and assemblies serving a diverse set of blue-chip customers who are distinguished leaders in attractive, growth-oriented end markets. Parkway’s robust offering of advanced technologies, including thixomolding, precision machined solutions, and high-performance polymers, as well as uncommon injection capabilities for both thermosets and thermoplastics, provides the Company with a highly differentiated value proposition in the plastics manufacturing space. From its eight facilities in the United States and one in Mexico, Parkway serves clients in the precision industrial, infrastructure, agriculture, aerospace and electronics, transportation, and healthcare markets. The Company has built an exceptional reputation and brand equity from its expertise in multiple synergistic process technologies and advanced materials expertise.

Clayens NP Group, headquartered in Genas, France, is a European leader in processing polymers, composites, and precision metal parts. Clayens collaborates with customers worldwide to provide them with the products and services they need across a wide range of industries, including aeronautics, automotive, healthcare, electronics, construction, household goods, sports, and leisure products. Clayens operates industrial sites in Germany, Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Mexico, with foreign subsidiaries providing specific services to customers close to their assembly facilities. The acquisition of Parkway will provide Clayens with a strong presence across the United States and positions Clayens to provide the highest quality services to its customers on three continents to become one of the leaders in global precision plastic components manufacturing.

Heartwood Partners, located in Norwalk, Connecticut, is a middle-market private equity firm founded in 1982. Heartwood is differentiated by a unique lower-leverage, distribution-yielding approach to private equity designed to create higher equity partnerships with continuing management. Heartwood currently manages over $1.7 billion in investments and commitments, and its principals have invested in more than 100 platform and add-on acquisitions. Presently, Heartwood is investing from Heartwood Partners Fund IV, LP, which is focused primarily on family and management-owned manufacturers, value-added distributors, food, chemical, consumer products, and business service companies.

One Equity Partners is a middle-market private equity firm focused on the industrial, healthcare, and technology sectors in North America and Europe. The firm seeks to build market-leading companies by identifying and executing transformative business combinations. Since its founding in 2001 and spinout of JP Morgan in 2015, OEP has completed more than 300 transactions worldwide. The firm has offices in New York, Chicago, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam.

“It has been a privilege to partner with the Parkway team over the last several years and assist them in executing their strategic plan, and we are all proud of what has been accomplished,” said Ed Tan, Partner at Heartwood Partners. “We look forward to watching the business continue to grow as part of Clayens. The Stout team did an excellent job preparing Parkway for sale, reflecting their deep expertise in the plastics processing space and their familiarity with the business.”

“This transaction is the result of strategic growth initiatives identified as part of our investment in Clayens in December 2022, proving OEP’s assessment of the company as a solid investment platform,” said Konstantin Ryzhkov, Managing Director, One Equity Partners. “The Parkway acquisition gives Clayens strategic scale in North America and further diversifies its customer base and technical capabilities.”

Clayens’ CEO Eric Pisani said, “The acquisition of Parkway Products creates synergies that enable first-class production of high-performance polymers, composites, and precision metals that enhances the Company’s technical expertise and overall client reach.”

Parkway CEO Andrew Green commented, “Under Heartwood Partners’ guidance, Parkway has successfully grown, expanded our locations, and entered new end markets. We look forward to becoming part of Clayens to expand our combined footprint and overall client reach, enhance platform-wide process technology expertise, and broaden value-added capabilities for customers across the globe.”

Michael Benson, the Managing Director at Stout who is leading the transaction, said, “We are thrilled to see Parkway and Clayens join forces and create a premier, global business by providing Clayens with a very strong and capable North American platform with a diverse set of process technologies, end markets, and blue-chip customers. Stout served as sell-side advisor to Parkway in Heartwood’s acquisition in 2015 and witnessed firsthand Parkway’s growth over the years under Heartwood’s ownership. We are looking forward to the Company’s next chapter of growth with Clayens and OEP.”

Stout’s Michael Brocious, Steve Simone, Irune Andres, and Reed Aleck are also leading the execution of the transaction.

Finn Dixon & Herling LLP is serving as legal counsel to Heartwood and Parkway. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is serving as legal counsel to Clayens and OEP.

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