Linsalata Capital Irons Out Clothing Deal –

Hoping to cash in on the “casualization of America,” Linsalata Capital Partners last month agreed to acquire Alpha Shirt Co., which distributes imprintable sportswear, for a total transaction value of $95 million.

Linsalata Capital contributed $30.5 million in equity, with the balance of debt provided by a syndicate of banks led by Key Bank. Massachusetts Mutal Life Insurance Co. and National City Capital provided mezzanine financing for the deal.

Alpha Shirt, based in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, distributes sportswear, such as T-shirts, to screen printers, embroiderers and advertising specialty companies throughout the U.S. The company has annual revenue of approximately $250 million.

According to Eric Bacon, a senior vice president at Linsalata Capital, the firm will work with Alpha Shirt management to increase the speed with which product is delivered to customers. Mr. Bacon said the company specialized in 24-hour turnaround times on orders. Alpha Shirt also will look to bolster its revenue through add-on acquisitions, he said.

Alpha Shirt’s business will benefit from the increasingly casual dress code at work places, Mr. Bacon said, as well as and from the boom in demand for corporate identity products.

Linsalata Capital last year closed on $173.5 million for its third buyout fund. The firm’s last fund closed on $45 million in 1995.

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Linsalata Capital focuses on control investments in traditional manufacturing companies, as well as in the services and distribution sectors. The firm always provides management with a stake in its transactions, Mr. Bacon said.