Private equity firm Align Capital Partners (ACP) has sold Wayland, MA-headquartered Top 40 distributorship iPROMOTEu (asi/232119) to another private equity firm – Champlain Capital. Financial terms of the deal were not released.

ACP first invested in iPROMOTEu in 2018.

“I want to thank the ACP team for being an excellent partner to iPROMOTEu over the last four years,” said iPROMOTEu president/CEO Ross Silverstein, a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people.

Silverstein, who will continue leading iPROMOTEu, is optimistic about what lies ahead. “The company is better and stronger in many respects today than it was four years ago, and we are well-positioned for future growth going forward," he said.

ACP said its time with iPROMOTEu was fruitful.

“We are proud of the value creation achievements over the course of our partnership with iPROMOTEu,” said ACP Partner Matt Beesley. “Through the creation of sales and marketing tools, the development and release of the (proprietary iSUITE order management technology), and significant additions to the management team, iPROMOTEu is not only a larger business today, but it also is fundamentally better positioned for future growth.”

Founded in 2000 with offices in San Francisco and Boston, Champlain is a private equity fund that partners with U.S. lower middle-market companies looking to take advantage of what the firm describes as its C-level expertise. The company looks to partner with businesses in a variety of verticals, including consumer products, manufacturing, business services, and value-added distribution. 

Champlain’s current investments are diverse, including Agam, a manufacturer of display products for trade shows and more; Bee’s Wrap, a designer and manufacturer of reusable, all-natural food wraps made from organic cotton and beeswax; and Pelton Shepherd, a maker of gel ice, a component in the delivery cold chain for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Dennis Leary and Warren D. Feldberg are Champlain’s managing partners.

Prior to founding Champlain Capital, Leary was a co-founding partner of PE firm Green Mountain Partners, which consisted of two funds with $430 million of capital. Earlier, Leary was part of a three-person team at CIGNA that invested CIGNA Mezzanine Partners III, a $450 million fund, and managed and exited the portfolios of two previous CIGNA funds with $500 million of combined capital.

Before joining Champlain shortly after its founding, Feldberg had an extensive career in both retailing and distribution, serving as chief executive officer of U.S. Office Products, chairman and CEO of Caldor, president and CEO of Marshalls, president of Target Stores, and executive vice president of Lechmere.

Based on reported 2021 North American promo product revenue of $180 million, iPROMOTEu ranks 13^th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry.

iPROMOTEu consists of more than 1,100 independent distributors and salespeople throughout the United States and Canada who affiliate with the firm for a suite of backend supports and more.

Merger and acquisition activity in the promo industry has been brisk to start the new year. Deals include Top 40 supplier HPG (asi/61966) buying fellow Top 40 firm Evans Manufacturing (asi/52840). Other deals include Top 40 supplier Next Level Apparel (asi/73867) acquiring Germany-based supplier Stedman and Top 40 distributor Boundless Network (asi/143717) buying Minnesota-based distributor PromoAdvantage Marketing Group (asi/300415).

In recent years, more private equity firms have been investing in the promo space. PE executives generally view the fragmented industry as one where driving efficiencies and the potential for consolidation can lead to significant market share gains. Some of promo’s biggest companies are in the portfolios of private equity firms. They include Top 40 entities such as HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000), S&S Activewear (asi/84358), Next Level Apparel, and alphabroder (asi/34063).