Warburg Pincus and Tilia Holding Invest in FlexXray Holdings
Posted on 07/27/2021
On July 26, 2021, Warburg Pincus LLC and Chicago-based private investment firm Tilia Holding acquired FlexXray Holdings, LLC, the U.S.’s largest provider of x-ray inspection and recovery services for food companies. FlexXray Holdings is based in Arlington, Texas. The seller was Los Angeles-based private equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, LLC. Founded in 2017, Tilia Holdings is focused exclusively on the food and nutrition supply chain.
FlexXray assists leading food manufacturers with regulatory compliance and food safety issues by identifying and removing foreign contaminants from food. Hundreds of manufacturing plants in North America rely on FlexXray’s industry-leading expertise and customer service to salvage valuable products when contamination events occur in the normal course of the food manufacturing process. FlexXray was founded in 2001. Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, through its LLCP Lower Middle Market Fund, L.P., invested in FlexXray on August 28, 2017.
Food Safety Investments
Warburg Pincus is an investor in food safety and food supply chain services, with current and historical investments in Certified Laboratories, Hygiena, GA Foods, SPINs, Aramark, Grubhub/Seamless, Duravant, and Trimark. Tilia is also an investor in the food and nutrition supply chain with current investments in Refrig-It, Certified Laboratories, Universal Pure, Proven Partners Group, Ellison Bakery, NutriScience Innovations, and Wheat Montana and historical investment in Safe Foods International Holdings.
Advisors
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP acted as legal advisor to Warburg Pincus and Tilia. Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc. served as the lead financial advisor to FlexXray, with support from Robert W. Baird & Co., Incorporated, and Honigman LLP served as legal counsel in connection with the sale.
