NorthStar seeking acquisitions

With a couple of manufacturing-related acquisitions under its belt, Reno-based NorthStar Investors Inc. is ready to pick up the pace.

The holding company this month acquired Glacier Glove, a Reno company that makes harsh-environment gloves for the outdoor industry and the military.

Glacier Glove joins Veterinary Ventures, a maker of drinking fountains for cats and dogs and other pet accessories, in NorthStar's manufacturing portfolio.

Chris Howard, the chief executive officer of NorthStar Investors, said the company is looking to buy more product-based companies with a national or international reach.

A key factor in acquisitions, he said, is the potential for NorthStar to develop new distribution channels or widen the product lines of the newly acquired companies.

The company's experience with Veterinary Ventures, Howard said, illustrates its approach. Purchasing a company with a single-product a pet-watering device from veterinarian Dr. Mary Burns of Reno, NorthStar widened the products to include several models of pet fountains as well as other pet accessories such as litter scoops. And the company has broken into big-box pet retailers nationwide.

The company now feels comfortable that it can replicate the process with other product-based companies and looks to raise its profile among potential sellers.

In most instances, Howard said target companies are likely to have gross annual sales in the range of $1.5 million to $3.5 million.

NorthStar, which finances deals from its own resources and doesn't rely on outside investors' money, can offer sellers flexible terms as well as assurances that employees won't be displaced.

"In every company we have purchased, we have kept all the employees," Howard said.

Along with the glove and pet-products companies, NorthStar owns a litigation-support firm in Phoenix and Meridian Business Advisors in Reno.

No matter where acquisitions may be based, NorthStar will bring significant operations to the Reno area.

"We will headquarter anything we buy in northern Nevada. Period," Howard says.