A Calhoun, Georgia designer and seller of landscape fabric, edging, frost protection, bug zappers and bio-fuel products to major big-box retailers was sold Tuesday to one of North America's biggest distributors of geotextile and erosion control products.
Greenscapes Home & Garden Products, Inc., which was started in 2000 by Calhoun businessman Sage Ralston, is merging with the Hanes Corp., a Winston Salem, N.C.-based subsidiary of Leggett & Platt.
The Chattanooga-based FourBridges Capital acted as exclusive advisor to Greenscapes.
"I founded Greenscapes 18 years ago," Ralston said. "It's a family to me, and I believe that Hanes will provide an excellent growth opportunity for my employees."
Greenscapes has about 40 employees. Ralston will remain a consultant for the company, and under its new ownership, Greenscapes will be managed by Don Hayes, who previously was executive vice president for the company.
Jerry Greene, president of Hanes Companies, said in a statement Tuesday that the purchase is an important milestone in his company's strategy to grow its presence in retail distribution. He said Hanes and Leggett & Platt are committed to growing their distribution network and Greenscapes sales.
Leggett and Platt is a $3.9 billion company with a market capitalization of $5.9 billion and did not disclose terms of its acquisition.
Ralston first engaged FourBridges in late 2011 to help raise additional financing for the company's growth. In 2012, Greenscapes closed on a $25 million line of credit.
Over the years, FourBridges assisted Ralston and Greenscapes in evaluating potential acquisitions.
"I don't sell companies for a living," Ralston said. "Having worked with FourBridges previously, I reached out to them and they helped me achieve a successful outcome."
Earlier this year, Ralston was approached by Hanes, and he agreed to explore a change-of-control transaction, with the priority of seeing that his employees would be taken care of and that he was getting maximum value.
The deal is one of five FourBridges has closed this year and the company is working on several more which should make 2018 the biggest year for merger and acquisition activity since before the Great Recession, Rowe said.
FourBridge currently has three deals in the "closing phase," as well as four others in the market.
"It's a great market for sellers right now with the strong economy and valuations that are generally high, although not crazy," said Chris Rowe, a managing director of FourBridges.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340