M&A wrap: Sealed Air, Bubble Wrap, GTCR, Harris Williams, Bain, Jordan, AUA

Sealed Air Corp. (NYSE: SEE) is buying Automated Packaging Systems, a manufacturer of automated bagging systems, for $510 million. The target is known for its bagging machines and pre-opened bags on a roll. The company, which has about in $290 million in annual sales, also offers recycled film services. APS operates seven manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and U.K. "The addition of APS is well aligned with our Reinvent SEE goal of doubling our innovation rate over the next five years," says Sealed Air CEO Ted Doheny. "This transaction expands the breadth of our automated solutions and sustainable packaging offerings, giving us access to growth opportunities in the markets we serve.” Sealed Air is known for making Bubble Wrap. Advisors to Sealed Air include: Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and K&L Gates. Advances in robotic technology are making it possible to complete more complex tasks at higher speeds and with improved control and outcomes, driving deal activity in the sector. Technology is revolutionizing the healthcare industry and fueling an explosion of transactions. Some of the most promising areas of innovation are: big data, medical devices, revenue cycle management, Software-as-a-Service and payment processing. “Healthcare IT is the largest cottage industry in the world,” says Sam Hendler, who leads healthcare IT deals at Harris Williams, which recently won Mergers & Acquisitions’ 2018 M&A Mid-Market Award for Investment Bank of the Year. “Healthcare IT is a highly fragmented, multi-billion-dollar market with thousands of companies focused on different $250 million to $500 million sub-markets. Savvy investors see there is an opportunity to aggregate assets and build platforms of scale. It’s an incredibly exciting time in healthcare IT.” For an in-depth look at five technologies driving M&A in healthcare, see Healthcare's must-have technologies. DEAL NEWS Bain Capital Private Equity is buying a majority stake in Imperial Dade, a distributor of disposable foodservice and janitorial supplies from Audax. The latter is keeping a stake in the target. Advisors to Imperial Dade include: Harris Williams and Ropes & Gray. Advisors to Bain include: Credit Suisse, Barclays, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Kirkland & Ellis and PwC. Jordan Co.-backed dental products supplier has acquired Crystal Tips, a distributor of disposable air and water syringe tips. Advisors to Crystal Tips include: Keystone Capital and Glaser Weil LLP. The advisor to Young Innovations is Dentons US LLP. AE Industrial Partners has acquired a majority stake in Alpine Air Express, a logistics and transportation company that focuses on regional air cargo services. Advisors to AEI include Akerman and KPMG. AUA Private Equity has invested in Gourmet Culinary, a holding company that invests in food makers. Vestar Capital-backed Edward Don & Co. has bought foodservice equipment provider Myers Restaurant Supply. Digital infrastructure-focused investment firm Digital Colony has acquired Cogeco Peer 1, a provider of network connectivity and managed services, from Cogeco Communications. FEATURED CONTENT Call for nominations: Mergers & Acquisitions has opened up the nomination process for the second annual 2019 Rising Stars of Private Equity. Last year, we named 11 PE investors to the list, including Ethan Liebermann (pictured: top row, far right), who was recently promoted from principal to director of TA Associates, and Jennifer Roach Pacini (bottom row, far left), a vice president of Yellow Wood Partners. For the Rising Stars of Private Equity, we look for individuals who are full-time private equity investors and whose best days are yet to come. These are the folks you predict will one day play a key leadership role at your PE firm – or will head up their own. There is no age cutoff. As a general rule of thumb, we are looking for candidates beyond entry-level investing but before making partner. We publish the list online in July and in the July/August issue of the magazine. The deadline for nominations is end of day Thursday, May 23, 2019. Nominations will be accepted only through our online form. There is no fee. CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE A RISING STAR OF PRIVATE EQUITY Click here for the 2018 Rising Stars of Private Equity. Related: Read more about Mergers & Acquisitions' three annual special reports, including the M&A Mid-Market Awards, the Rising Stars of Private Equity, and the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A. Technology permeates dealmaking today. “Tech is, more or less, touching everything,” as the authors of The 2019 BDO Technology Outlook Survey put it. You can see the impact of tech throughout the 2018 winners of Mergers & Acquisitions’ M&A Mid-Market Awards especially: Luminate Capital Partners founder Hollie Hayne scoring Dealmaker of the Year for raising a second fund to invest in enterprise software companies; and TA Associates winning Private Equity Firm of the Year for investing a record $2.8 billion in new portfolio companies, most of which are infused with technology one way or the other. Related: Why private equity firms still love technology Related: 10 private equity firms share strategies for tech M&A. Excelled. Innovated. Inspired. That’s what the eight winners of Mergers & Acquisitions’ 12th Annual M&A Mid-Market Awards did in 2018. Our awards honor the leading dealmakers and deals that set the standard for transactions in the middle market. In addition to Nike, award winners include: Fortive, TA Associates, the Riverside Co., Harris Williams, Monroe Capital, Goodwin and Luminate Capital Partners' Hollie Haynes. Read our full coverage: Meet the winners of the M&A Mid-Market Awards: Nike, Fortive, TA, Harris Williams. Genstar Capital, Audax, HarbourVest ranked as the top U.S. private equity firms of 2018, based on volume of completed deals, according to PitchBook. Check out Mergers & Acquisitions' profiles of 21 firms that led the league tables. Top private equity firms: Genstar, Audax, HarbourVest and more Also see: Top investment banks in PE-backed deals: KPMG, Houlihan, GS, William Blair. Mergers & Acquisitions has named 36 leaders the 2019 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A, including Kainos Capital's Sarah Bradley, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors' Nishita Cummings and Pelham S2K Managers' Venita Fields. All 36 are outstanding dealmakers both inside and outside of their firms. This year, we asked the featured dealmakers to tell their own stories through Q&As, including their advice for women. Related: Meet the 2019 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A. EVENTS InterGrowth 2019 takes place May 6-8 at the Waldorf Astoria & Hilton Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Florida. Innovation Works holds its second annual AI/Robotics Venture Fair in Pittsburgh May 15-16. ACG Chicago hosts the Midwest Capital Connection, at The Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile, May 21-22. ACG New York, ACG Boston and ACG Philadelphia are holding the Industrial Conference with Value Creation at the Infor in New York on June 6. The event is part of the Northeast Industry Tour. ACG Minnesota hosts the The Upper Midwest ACG Capital Connection at the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot, June 10-11. ACG Boston brings together 700-plus dealmakers for DealFest Northeast and DealSource Select 2019 at the Cyclorama & The State Room, June 12-13. Exponent Women hosts the Annual Exchange, which brings a trusted network of women dealmakers together for a focused day of robust content and networking, at Second in New York, on July 11. The Exchange provides attendees with opportunities to establish new connections, reinforce existing ones, and absorb timely and relevant knowledge from industry leaders.