New Frontier acquires Fred Weber
New Frontier Materials recently announced the acquisition of the asphalt and aggregates assets of Fred Weber, Inc. The acquisition included 20 Fred Weber locations and will make New Frontier the largest supplier of aggregates and asphalt to St. Louis and the surrounding area.
New Frontier, a newly formed venture backed by a group of family offices, is led by seasoned industry personnel, including Vulcan’s Don James and Mike Clarke, as well as Aggregates USA’s Bill Niketas. The venture is the most recent example of institutional investors sponsoring proven industry leaders in an effort to deploy capital into the aggregates space.
Although traditional private equity groups, including Lindsay Goldberg, Audax, Sun Capital, and others have previously ventured into the industry successfully, those investments were generally made via closed-end funds. New Frontier’s use of family office funding, which is generally longer-term and more flexible in nature, is a savvy approach and will enable the venture to maneuver through the inevitable cyclicality of the industry without the pressure of a fund-life driven exit.
Experienced management paired with sophisticated patient capital and a sector with excellent long-term fundamentals is a winning combination. Little wonder that family office inquiries into potential opportunities in the industry are up dramatically in the past 18 months. New Frontier may be one of the first, but it will certainly not be the last to employ this approach.
To learn more about family offices and whether an investment from one might be a viable option for your business, contact Inlet Capital Group directly.