Aug 2, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Cannon Safe Announces Partnership with MidOcean Partners to Acquire Stack-On Products

Cannon Safe, Inc., (“Cannon Safe”) the market leader in the start-to-finish manufacturing of large scale residential safes and the leading innovator of quick-access home defense safes under the GunVault brand, and MidOcean Partners (“MidOcean”), a premier middle market private equity firm focused on consumer and business services, today announced the acquisition of Stack-On Products (“Stack-On”), a market leader in secure storage and home organization.

The combined business will be led by Aaron Baker, Chief Executive Officer of Cannon Safe, who is maintaining a meaningful stake in the company.

Baker stated, “Combining Cannon Safe and Stack-On creates a market leading platform that dramatically expands our presence in the residential safe and secure storage markets under these iconic brands and best-in-class products, positioning us to truly meet our stated goal of ‘A Safe in Every Home’.”

Cannon Safe has been in business since 1965 and has long been recognized as an industry leading manufacturer of high quality products including large scale safes, personal safes, home security products and quick access safes under the Cannon Safe, GunVault and Cannon Security Products brand names. Cannon Safe is a start-to-finish manufacturer of large scale residential safes and GunVault is the leading innovator of quick access home defense safes with a well-established consumer following around its patented No-Eyes® keypad.

Stack-On, based in Illinois, was founded by John Lynn in 1972 and has had over 45 years of proven success in manufacturing and distribution of home safes, gun security products, garage storage and organizational products under the Stack-On Products, Sovereign and Sentinel brand names. Stack-On offers a diverse line of products and is highly regarded for its strong capabilities in design, sourcing and distribution.

Aaron Baker added, “We are excited to join these great brands together into one company, with the broadest product assortment and greatest value for our customers and consumers. This is a transformative opportunity to join forces with another industry leader in Stack-On and partner with a world-class investor in MidOcean. We are grateful to all of our employees for their hard work and dedication which has been the driving force that built these two companies into leaders in residential security products. We remain committed to delivering a great value proposition and believe the combined business will allow us to provide our retail partners and end-consumers with a full suite of products across price points, brands, sizes and designs. MidOcean brings an impressive track record of building lasting value for their portfolio companies and we look forward to leveraging its significant resources and consumer products experience to support further innovation and growth.”

Don Pannier, Executive Vice President for Stack-On added, “We are excited for this new chapter in Stack-On’s legacy and the opportunity to partner with the Cannon Safe team, a strong business with shared values and passion for delivering best-in-class products to our customers and continuing to drive the expansion of the secure storage sector.”

Daniel Penn, Managing Director at MidOcean concluded, “We look forward to working with Aaron Baker and the talented Cannon Safe and Stack-On management teams as the business enters the next stage of its growth. Cannon Safe is widely recognized as the leading manufacturer of safe and secure storage products, and we are excited by the long-term potential of the combined business. The growth prospects resulting from a combination with Stack-On are tremendous, given the favorable and resilient market dynamics, an unmatched product portfolio, shared commitment to innovation and a loyal customer base. Both Cannon and Stack-On fit well within MidOcean's investment approach of finding attractive, innovative businesses with experienced management teams, strong market positions and well-known brands where we believe we can bring our consumer products expertise and relationships to surround the companies with talent and help them achieve their goals. We believe there is a substantial opportunity to expand the secure storage market and we are excited to bring our consumer products expertise and relationships to help the combined business execute and accelerate its operational and strategic initiatives.”

Financial terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Best Best & Krieger LLP and Objective Capital Partners acted as legal and financial advisor, respectively, to Cannon Safe. Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal advisor to MidOcean Partners. Lincoln International acted as financial advisor and Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP acted as legal advisor to Stack-On.

About Cannon Safe, Inc.

Cannon Safe has been in business since 1965 and has long been recognized as an industry leading manufacturer of high quality products including large scale safes, personal safes, home security products and quick access safes under the Cannon Safe, GunVault and Cannon Security Products brand names. Cannon Safe is a start to finish manufacturer of large scale residential fire safes And GunVault is the leader in quick access home defense safes, with a well-established consumer following around its patented No-Eyes® keypad. Cannon Safe has a stated goal of “A Safe in Every Home” that is the motto of every team member at the company. For more information, please visit Cannon Safe’s website (www.cannonsafe.com).

About Stack-On Products Company

Stack-On Products Company, based in Illinois, was founded by John Lynn in 1972 and has had over 45 years of proven success in manufacturing and distribution of home safes, gun security products, garage storage and organizational products under the Stack-On Products, Sovereign and Sentinel brand name. Stack-On products are designed to meet the needs of homeowners, do-it-yourselfers, and sportsmen throughout the world. Stack-On security products include portable cases for protection on the go, small safes to secure valuables in the home or office, quick access gun safes for home defense, and an unmatched selection of gun cabinets and gun safes for secure firearm storage. Homeowners and do-it-yourselfers will find storage drawers and bins, tool boxes, workbenches, and a variety of large storage cabinets ideal for home or garage organization. For more information, please visit Stack-On’s website (www.stack-on.com).

About MidOcean Partners

Established in 2003, MidOcean Partners is a premier New York-based alternative asset manager that specializes in middle market private equity and alternative credit investments. Since inception, the focus of the private equity funds has been on high-quality middle market companies with attractive strategic, operational and financial growth opportunities in the Consumer and Business Services sectors. MidOcean Credit Partners was launched in 2009 and manages approximately $6.2 billion across a series of alternative credit strategies, collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), and customized separately managed accounts. For more information, please visit MidOcean’s website (www.midoceanpartners.com).