Chicago, Illinois - Code Hennessy & Simmons IV LP completed the sale of Kranson Holding Company to KII Holding Corporation, an entity controlled by AEA Investors, a New York-based private equity firm.

Kranson is the leading full-service distributor of outsourced rigid packaging solutions in North America. Founded in 1902 and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, the Company markets its services under the trade names TricorBraun™ and Caliber Wine Group. Kranson provides a broad assortment of more than 32,000 rigid packaging containers and related components, including bottles, jars, tubes, cans, dispensers, closures and other associated items, as well as a variety of complementary services, to a wide range of end-markets. Kranson completed three accretive add-on acquisitions since October 1999 that expanded the Company’s geographical presence and product offerings.

According to David O. Hawkins, a Partner at Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC, “Kranson performed remarkably well throughout a difficult economic period due to the hard work of the Company’s high-caliber management team.”

Keith Strope, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kranson remarked, “Kranson benefited significantly from the strong, collaborative relationship between our management team and CHS. We jointly developed operational and financial goals designed to grow equity value, and worked seamlessly to successfully reach those objectives. Further, CHS played a critical role in the sourcing, financing and execution of each add-on acquisition.”