Aurora Capital Partners (Aurora), a leading middle-market private equity firm, today announced that it has acquired Spray-Tek, LLC (Spray-Tek), North America's leading provider of specialized spray drying and ingredient processing solutions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

 

Founded in 1980, Spray-Tek is the largest independent provider of specialty spray drying and ingredient processing solutions, principally serving the food and beverage, personal and home care, and pharmaceutical and nutraceutical end markets. The Company is trusted by its global, blue-chip customers to produce a variety of distinctive and complex flavors, fragrances, and ingredients for many of the world's most recognizable brands. Spray-Tek operates facilities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and is on track to open a new state-of-the-art facility in Beloit, Wisconsin in early 2022. The company leverages its proprietary dryer technology, deep process knowhow, and culture of operational excellence to offer the market's broadest range of technical capabilities and spray-drying capacity.

 

"David and his team have built a tremendous platform, and we are thrilled to partner with them as the Company continues to accelerate its growth," said Randy Moser, Partner at Aurora.  "The Company's relentless focus on quality, process innovation, and customer service has allowed it to become the market leader in an attractive, high-growth industry where there are significant opportunities for both organic and inorganic investment." 

 

"Spray-Tek is an excellent fit for Aurora's investment mandate," said Mark Rosenbaum, Partner at Aurora.  "We are excited to resource the many growth initiatives that David and his team have identified, which will allow Spray-Tek to solve even more of its customers' pain points.  We thank David and his team for selecting us as his partners and look forward to capitalizing on the momentum they have built over the last several years."

 

"Aurora shares our customer-first approach, with an unwavering commitment to delivering world-class quality and service," said David A. Brand, President and CEO of Spray-Tek. "Their exceptional track record of working with management teams to accelerate growth makes Aurora the ideal partner for Spray-Tek.  With Aurora's strategic and financial support, we will be able to increase our drying capacity and expand our portfolio of service offerings to best meet our customers' needs as they continue to innovate and grow their own product portfolios."

 

This transaction marks the sixth investment from Aurora Equity Partners VI, which was activated in September 2020. It follows several recent Aurora investments within the broader Industrial Technologies sector, including Cold Chain Technologies, Inhance Technologies, and Pace Analytical Services.

 

KeyBanc Capital Markets acted as exclusive financial advisor and McDermott Will & Emery LLP served as legal advisor to Spray-Tek on the transaction. Piper Sandler & Co. served as financial advisor and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal advisor to Aurora. Neuberger Berman Private Debt client funds provided debt financing for the transaction.