Generational Capital Markets Advises Great Lakes Renewable Energy in its Sale to Lignetics

By Capital Markets

04/16/2021

Generational Capital Markets, Member FINRA/SIPC and a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce the sale of its client, Great Lakes Renewable Energy, Inc., to Lignetics, Inc. (a holding of Taglich Private Equity, LLC). The acquisition closed March 31, 2021.

Located in Hayward, Wisconsin, Great Lakes Renewable Energy (GLRE) is a wood pellet manufacturer specializing in BBQ wood pellets, primarily under the Lumber Jack Grilling Pellets brand. The Company is the only round log pellet mill in the world that has devoted its future capacity to producing this product, and it is the only mill making a 5.5mm size pellet. GLRE serves over 1,200 recurring customers in various BBQ subsectors across the globe, including seasoning, sporting goods, leisure, and professional meat smoking companies.

Lignetics, headquartered in Louisville, Colorado, is the largest residential wood pellet manufacturing company in the U.S. with a production capacity of over 1.2 million tons of wood pellets per year. The Company now operates seventeen manufacturing plants across the U.S., including in the states of Maine, Oregon (2), Idaho, West Virginia, Virginia (2), Wisconsin (4), New Hampshire, New York (2), and Pennsylvania (2), and Quebec Province in Canada.  

Founded in 1983, Lignetics is a market leader in turning wood waste into a range of premium eco-friendly 100% natural products across several consumer categories. Consumer categories include residential heating, home grilling, and most recently the pet products category. Consisting of a family of brands, Lignetics is dedicated to bringing innovative products to its consumers under various brands including the Lignetics (residential heating), Lumber Jack Grilling Pellets (through the GLRE acquisition), Bear Mountain BBQ (home grilling) and Catalyst Pet (pet products) brands.

The Company’s innovative eco-friendly offering includes premium wood pellets for super-efficient heating, BBQ pellets that naturally seal in perfect wood-fired flavor, and a superior all-natural high-performance cat litter. Lignetics delivers these innovative all-natural products through national retail partners and directly to consumers via the only national network of wood pellet manufacturing plants spread across the US and Canada with 17 different plant locations. For more information on Lignetics and all its products, visit https://lignetics.com/.

Taglich Private Equity (TPE) is a New York-based, value-oriented financial sponsor that is focused on investing in the lower middle-market. They specialize in recapitalizations, management buyouts, and majority equity investments, targeting manufacturing, business services and consumer products companies. TPE concentrates on finding sound investment opportunities, leveraging a business’s strengths, identifying new market opportunities and providing strategic support to capable management teams.

Since inception in 2001, the Firm has invested more than $650 million in the lower middle market. They look to partner with management teams that can take advantage of their expertise and background in order to optimize their company's growth potential and create long-term value. For more information on TPE, visit https://taglichpe.com/.

Generational Capital Markets’ Senior Managing Director of Mergers & Acquisitions, Phil Pizzurro, successfully closed the deal. Senior Managing Director Rick Buchoz established the initial relationship with GLRE.

“It was an honor working on behalf of the GLRE shareholders and a great pleasure furthering our relationship with Taglich,” said Pizzurro. “GLRE, Lignetics, and TPE all operate with the utmost integrity, which is evident in the loyalty of their employees and satisfaction of their customers. This resulted in the cultural alignment that helped distinguish the group from others”.

Pizzurro added, “Additionally, the strategic fit and synergies that will be realized in this transaction was incomparable. I have full confidence that this partnership will result in sustained future growth for GLRE and offer its employees, customers, and suppliers substantial advancement and expansion opportunities.”

About Generational Capital, LLC

Generational Capital, LLC, is a Dallas, Texas-based merger and acquisition advisory firm. Generational Capital wholly owns Generational Capital Markets, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. More information can be found at https://www.gencm.com/.

Generational Capital and Generational Capital Markets are part of the Generational Group and are affiliated with Generational Equity, LLC, which The M&A Advisor named Investment Banking Firm of the Year in 2016, 2017, and 2018 and Valuation Firm of the Year in 2020.

GCM's most recent awards include The M&A Advisor's 2020 Information Technology Deal of the Year ($10MM-$25MM) and 2020 Private Equity Deal of the Year ($25MM-$50MM).