Catterton Invests $50M Into Newmarket IT

AUSTIN-Newmarket IT, a locally based, seven-year-old recycler of personal computers aiming for a national market, has received a $50-million infusion from Catterton Partners Inc., a private equity firm based in Greenwich, CT. The funding represents the first of several expected rounds of funding from Catterton, according to Newmarket principals.

“This infusion of capital will give Newmarket IT the fire power it needs to establish a stronger national presence, build an international presence and launch services for additional product categories, such as cell phones and PDAs,” says Michael Farello, a Catterton partner. Farello will join Newmarket IT’s board of directors along with Jake Player, formerly the head of asset recovery services for Dell. Player was named president of the company, relieving Newmarket founder Jeff Zeigler of that post. Zeigler will continue to serve as company chairman and CEO.

As part of its growth plan, Newmarket has acquired a 120,000-sf facility at 2214 W. Braker Lane in Austin, formerly occupied by Dell. The company also owns and operates a processing plant in Richmond, VA and is expected to announce new locations later this year in Reno, NV and the Midwest, according to Zeigler. The Austin building will handle product repairs and refurbishments, increasing Newmarket IT’s remanufacturing capacity by more than 300%, the company chairman says.