Arbor Investments has completed the sale of its Fund II portfolio company, Gold Standard Baking, to Tricor Pacific Capital. The sale of Gold Standard provided Arbor with a 9.4x gross return on its investment.
Gold Standard is a manufacturer of frozen laminated dough products sold through grocery retailers, foodservice distributors, quick serve restaurant chains, commissaries and convenience stores throughout North America. The company is headquartered in Chicago (www.goldstandardbaking.com).
Gold Standard was founded in 1987 and was acquired by in 2001 by brothers Yianny and George Caparos. Arbor partnered with the Caparos brothers and acquired Gold Standard Baking in June 2008. Immediately, Arbor began a growth plan backed by a $40 million investment in equipment and facilities that transformed the company into the largest manufacturer of high-quality specialty croissants and strip Danish products in the United States. Today, Gold Standard Baking makes more than 100,000 croissants an hour or more than 10 million each week.
“Yianny and George Caparos were extraordinary partners. The Arbor and Gold Standard teams worked closely during our partnership and significantly expanded production capacity and product capability. The Caparos brothers executed our strategic vision flawlessly. We were very fortunate to work with entrepreneurs of such high integrity, unmatched baking expertise and superior management skill,” said Arbor’s President and Co-Founder, Joseph Campolo.
Arbor invests in the food & beverage and related industries. The firm has acquired or invested in over 41 food & beverage companies in North America and currently has $700 million of assets under management across three funds. Arbor was founded in 1999 and is based in Chicago (www.arborpic.com).
“Arbor has been an inestimable partner during Gold Standard’s period of tremendous growth providing the company with needed capital, human resources and strategic direction. Without the symbiotic Arbor relationship, Gold Standard would not be the success it is today,” said Yianny Caparos.
“Incredibly, during our 8-year ownership, Gold Standard Baking quadrupled in size and Fund II, inclusive of cash proceeds received in connection with two dividend recaps during our ownership period, realized a 9.4x gross return on its investment,” said Mr. Campolo.
According to James Gold, an outside director of the company and a food industry veteran, Arbor is one of the top investors in the food industry. “I’ve been involved in the food industry for 35 years. The Gold Standard Baking investment exemplifies why Arbor is the foremost private equity food investor in the United States.
Tricor Pacific Capital – the buyer of Gold Standard Baking – invests in middle-market companies with enterprise values from $25 million to $250 million in the manufacturing, service, distribution and consumer product sectors that are located in the west and mid-west regions of Canada and the United States. The firm currently manages approximately $1 billion of capital and is investing its fourth fund with $555 million in committed capital. Tricor Pacific was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Vancouver with an additional office in Chicago (www.tricorpacific.com).
William Blair acted as exclusive financial advisor to Arbor in connection with the transaction and DLA Piper served as Arbor’s legal counsel.
2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 5-1-15
