Calico Industries completed a going concern sale transaction with Mill Street Ventures of Flowood, MS. Equity Partners HG, a Maryland-based investment banker, served as intermediary for the seller.

Mill Street’s parent company, Jamas Capital Management, owns Arrow Distribution, which operates a similar business to Calico Industries in Mississippi.

Calico Industries provides products and customer service to the food service, workplace safety and janitorial industries. Headquartered in Maryland, with a redistribution facility in Florida, it represents a variety of manufacturers and offers a broad range of competitively priced products to amusement parks, restaurants, municipalities, school systems, general contractors, prisons, healthcare facilities, hospitality businesses and various other institutions.

In late October 2016, Calico Industries retained Equity Partners HG as the exclusive broker for the company. Calico had seen a reduction in its revenues over the past several years and was losing money annually.

Equity Partners HG’s charge was to quickly find a buyer for the business before it was forced to shut down. The company ran an exhaustive marketing process reaching out to thousands of prospective buyers. Mill Street was finally approved as the successful suitor for the business. Almost all 47 full time employees were retained, and the business continues to operate.

Fred Cross, managing director at Equity Partners HG, said, “This was an outstanding result. Calico Industries brings countless synergies to Mill Street Ventures and the sale brought a far greater recovery to creditors than liquidation would have. Keeping the jobs in Annapolis Junction, MD and building on these synergies will make this acquisition a great success for Mill Street long into the future. All of us at Equity Partners HG are happy to see an outcome like this and we look forward to Calico providing another 90+ years of continued service.”