Platinum Equity has agreed to acquire JM Swank, a food ingredient sourcing and distribution business of ConAgra Foods.
JM Swank sources and distributes more than 3,000 ingredients including grains; beans and breading; cocoa, chips, and nuts; sweeteners; dairy and eggs; flavors, sauces, broths and vinegars; fruit and vegetables; and spices, seasonings and seeds. The company transports more than 800 million pounds of products annually and operates 19 warehouses and five distribution centers located across the country. JM Swank was founded in 1954 and was acquired by ConAgra Foods in 1992. The company is headquartered north of Iowa City in North Liberty, IA (www.jmswank.com).
ConAgra Foods has been divesting certain business units in order to increase the company’s focus on core products. “Our goal continues to be driving greater shareholder value by making ConAgra Foods a more focused and higher performing company,” said Sean Connolly, president and chief executive officer of ConAgra Foods. “The divestiture of JM Swank is the most recent step we have taken to allow us to drive growth by continuing to invest in our product portfolio.”
Platinum and ConAgra have agreed to collaborate to insure a smooth ownership transition. Platinum has a long history of carving out small business units from large corporate parents. “Complex carve outs require experience, hard work and attention to detail. We have been providing divestiture solutions to corporate sellers for more than 20 years and understand what it takes to be successful,” said Tom Gores, CEO of Platinum.
Platinum Equity invests in a range of industries including manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, metals services, media and entertainment, technology, and telecommunications. The firm has completed nearly 175 acquisitions since its founding in 1995. Platinum is based in Beverly Hills with additional offices in New York and London (www.platinumequity.com).
ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America’s largest packaged food companies. ConAgra has annual revenues of approximately $18 billion and is headquartered in Omaha (www.conagrafoods.com).
Wells Fargo (www.wellsfargo.com) was the exclusive financial advisor to ConAgra Foods on this transaction.
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 6-10-16
