Susan Schnabel, co-managing partner of aPriori Capital Partners, can list portfolio company Visant Holding Corp., as graduated, especially after the owner of class ring and yearbook maker Jostens is sold for $1.5 billion. The acquirer is publicly traded Jarden Corp., which owns such brands as Mr. Coffee, Oster kitchen products, Rawlings sporting goods and Yankee Candle gifts.
“The sale of Visant to Jarden will result in the final realization of a successful transaction,” Susan tells Women’s PE Briefs. Visant was formed in 2004, by private equity firms KKR and DLJ Merchant Banking, by combining Jostens with several other companies. DLJ Merchant Banking’s portfolio is now managed by aPriori, whose team is comprised of former members of DLJ Merchant Banking, including Susan. DLJ originally acquired Jostens in 2003. Visant’s largest unit, Jostens generates some $740 million in revenue. Founded in 1897, it gets about 45 percent of its revenue from yearbooks and 45 percent from class rings, caps and gowns, and other high school products. The remaining 10 percent comes from sales of similar products to colleges and professional sports teams. Jostens is the leading seller of championship rings to pro teams.
Susan, who served on Visant’s board, said she and aPriori “are very pleased” for the Jostens’ team, as the transaction “allows them to fulfill their long-term objectives and realize their growth potential.” Susan, who served on Visant’s board, was co-head of DLJ Merchant Banking, which was a unit of Credit Suisse. Last year, Susan helped spin DLJ Merchant Banking out of Credit Suisse and into aPriori. The move was made as part of Credit Suisse’s efforts to divest itself of its alternative investment holdings. When the spin-off was completed, aPriori managed funds holding approximately $2 billion of value across 22 portfolio companies. Earlier this year, aPriori announced that one of the funds it is managing, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners Fund III, had been successfully wound up after 15 years, with investors either provided with liquidity or the option to invest in remaining assets. Visant was a portfolio company within that fund.
Last year, another of Susan’s portfolio companies, Deffenbaugh Disposal, Inc., was sold to Waste Management, Inc. Susan joined Credit Suisse in 2000, when Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette merged with Credit Suisse First Boston. She was a board member of Neiman Marcus, which was sold, in 2013, to Ares Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $6 billion. Susan is also a director of: Arcade Marketing, Enduring Resources, Laramie Energy, Luxury Optical Holdings, Merrill Corp., and Summit Gas Resources. » Read More