SSG Capital Advisors acted as the investment banker to Centerstone Linen Services d/b/a Clarus Linen Systems in the sale of its assets and multiple operations to Crown Health Care Laundry Services PureStar Linen Group and Clean Textile Systems d/b/a CleanCare.
The sales were executed through a Chapter 11 Section 363 process in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York.
Headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Clarus is a provider of high-quality linen rental and commercial laundry services to the healthcare industry. Together with its subsidiaries, Clarus operated five production facilities that provided daily pick-ups and deliveries to their customers.
Facing management turnover, declining revenue and operational challenges, Clarus implemented various strategic initiatives in 2017 and 2018, including contract rationalization and the closure of two plants. Additionally, cash constraints negatively impacted their ability to consistently purchase adequate linen, leading to plant inefficiencies and fulfillment issues. Ultimately, Clarus filed for Chapter 11 protection and retained SSG.
SSG conducted a comprehensive marketing process that resulted in multiple offers for the operations and assets. Ultimately, offers from three separate buyers were selected as winning bids to maximize value for stakeholders. Crown purchased the Spartanburg, SC and Albany, GA operations, CleanCare acquired the Buffalo, NY, operation and PureStar purchased assets in Atlanta.
Crown, a portfolio company of Quilvest Private Equity, is an independent full-service health care laundry processor and linen rental company. PureStar is a provider of laundry services and linen management to the hospitality industry. CleanCare is a textile and linen rental service for the health care and hospitality industries.
