Golden Gate Buys EP Minerals

Golden Gate Capital has acquired EP Management Corp. and  its sole operating subsidiary, EP Minerals. Financial terms weren’t announced. Reno, Nev.-based EP Minerals produces producer of diatomaceous earth  filter aids, functional additives and absorbents. News of the sale was disclosed by Harris Williams which advised EP Minerals.

PRESS RELEASE

Harris Williams & Co., the premier middle market investment bank, announces the sale of EP Management Corporation and its sole operating subsidiary, EP Minerals, a worldwide producer of diatomaceous earth (DE) filter aids, functional additives and absorbents, to Golden Gate Capital. Harris Williams & Co. acted as the exclusive advisor to EP Minerals. The transaction was led by John Neuner, Patrick McNulty and Luke Semple from the firm’s Richmond office.

“As the world’s second-largest producer of DE and a leading supplier of perlite with a leading suite filtration, functional additive, and absorbent products, EP Minerals is a great fit with the strong practice we have built in the industrial minerals and mining sector. We have known the company for several years, and it has been exciting to watch management execute on their strategic plan under EP Management Corporation’s ownership. Management has built an exceptional platform that is well-positioned for future growth. We are pleased to have found a great partner in Golden Gate who has deep experience in the minerals sector and will serve as a valuable partner for the management team as they continue to execute on their growth initiatives,” said John Neuner, a managing director at Harris Williams & Co.

EP Minerals LLC started operations in Nevada in 1945 and has grown to become a worldwide leader serving dozens of diverse markets from food and beverage to biofuels to paints and plastics. The company also produces perlite filter aids and drinking water purification media. EP Minerals is the sole remaining subsidiary of EP Management Corporation.

Golden Gate Capital is a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with approximately $9.0 billion of capital under management. Golden Gate is dedicated to partnering with world-class management teams to invest in change-intensive, growth businesses. The principals of Golden Gate have a long and successful history of investing with management partners across a wide range of industries and transaction types, including leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, corporate divestures and buy-and-builds.

Harris Williams & Co. (www.harriswilliams.com), a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC), is the premier middle market advisor with a two-decade legacy of sell side excellence serving clients worldwide. The firm is focused exclusively on the middle market providing sell side and acquisition advisory, restructuring advisory, board advisory, private placements and capital markets advisory services.

Investment banking services are provided by Harris Williams LLC, a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC, and Harris Williams & Co. Ltd, an Appointed Representative of Sturgeon Ventures LLP, which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Harris Williams & Co. is a trade name under which Harris Williams LLC and Harris Williams & Co. Ltd conduct business in the U.S. and Europe, respectively.