Brand & Oppenheimer Makes Third Acquisition with General Fabrics Co.
Portsmouth, RI – February 8, 2018 – Brand & Oppenheimer Co., Inc. (“B&O”), a leading textile converter, announced its third acquisition since 2014 by acquiring the assets of General Fabrics Co. (“General Fabrics”), a leading wholesale designer, packager, and distributor of printed textiles. Founded in 1951, General Fabrics services a wide variety of markets, notably quilting and crafting resellers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
General Fabrics has a longstanding reputation for quality within the quilting and craft resale markets. Their products are known for a breadth of designs from the 1800’s to contemporary urban graffiti offerings. All General Fabrics employees remain in place in their locations in Rhode Island, New York, and Texas.
“We are very excited to join forces with B&O,” stated Edward and David Odessa, members of the founding family. “We will continue to meet customer demands with quality products and outstanding service, and we look forward to a very successful future together.”
“We are excited to bring General Fabrics into the B&O family,” stated Ed Ricci, CEO of B&O. “B&O and I have worked with the Odessa’s for a long time, and General Fabrics’ business model fits well into B&O’s operations. The acquisition expands our product capabilities, complements our existing sales divisions, and advances our vision for strategic growth. We look forward to entering the print quilting and craft markets and streamlining the connections between B&O’s other sales divisions.”
B&O’s continued strategic growth has received enthusiastic support from Praesidian Capital, which initially invested both first lien debt and equity in B&O.
“Since our initial investment, B&O has continued to provide premiere textile products and customer service,” said Jason Drattell, the founding partner of Praesidian. “We have been consistently impressed with the management team’s strategic vision and ability to drive growth. The acquisition will expand B&O’s product offering and customer base, and we anticipate continued growth in the coming years as management executes on their strategic vision.”
About Brand & Oppenheimer Co., Inc.
Brand & Oppenheimer Company, Inc. is a leading textile converter based in Portsmouth, RI. The Company specializes in providing textile solutions for such market segments as the military, tactical, commercial, apparel, industrial, bias bindings, trims and specialty end items. B&O offers both a wide range of stock fabrics custom solutions. B&O’s divisions include Performance Textiles, a leading supplier of high-performance fabrics based in Greensboro, NC; 1947, the exclusive international distributor of the MULTICAM® brand of fabrics & webbings based in Portsmouth, RI; and Cutting Edge Textiles, the premiere supplier of Bias Binding and Trim Fabrics based in Bedford, MA.
About General Fabrics. Co.
Located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, General Fabrics is a leading wholesale designer, packager, and distributor of printed textiles. Since it was founded in 1951, the company has established a longstanding reputation for quality products and customer service.
About Praesidian Capital
Praesidian Capital is an innovative private investment firm focused on providing senior and subordinated debt along with growth capital to private lower middle market businesses in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and selectively in Northern Europe. Praesidian invests in established small and mid-sized companies, often in connection with management buyouts, recapitalizations, and refinancings. Based in New York with an office in London, Praesidian has nearly $1 billion in original capital commitments in aggregate. For more information, visit www.praesidian.com.
Media Contacts: Abernathy MacGregor
(213) 630-6550
Rivian Bell, rlb@abmac.com