Blackford Capital has acquired Ellison Bakery, a manufacturer of bakery products sold to the industrial market, food service industry, and retail and private label sectors.
Ellison Bakery was founded by Donald Ellis in a family garage in 1945 and supplied baked goods to restaurants and grocery stores in the Ft. Wayne area. The company grew quickly and later became the exclusive manufacturer for Archway Cookies in Indiana, Kentucky and Wisconsin. Today, Ellison bakes and sells cookies, snack bars, crunch and inclusion products (e.g., chocolate chip pieces, brownie pieces, and pie crust pieces). Ellison has over 100 employees and operates out of a 115,000 sq. ft. facility located in Fort Wayne, IN (www.ebakery.com).
This transaction also marks the retirement of Rob Ellis, who stepped down as CEO 6 years ago and had remained with Ellison as the CFO. Mr. Ellis’ sons, Jon and Jeremy Ellis, have grown the business tremendously over the past four years and will continue to be active in the business post-transaction.
“We’re excited the Ellis family decided to entrust the future of Ellison Bakery with Blackford Capital. Ellison has established itself as a premier industrial bakery and is known for its high quality and extreme flexibility in supporting a wide range of customers,” said Martin Stein, Founder and Managing Director of Blackford Capital. “The Ellis brothers had been looking for a financial partner that would help continue the legacy they had built with their father. We’re honored to play a part in Ellison’s next chapter and we look forward to investing in the business, the employees, and the community as we continue the story of growth at Ellison.”
“We’re excited to benefit from the strategic experience and capital that Blackford brings and look forward to working with the entire team to execute our aggressive plans for growth,” said Todd Wallin, President of Ellison Bakery. “The Ellis family selected Blackford Capital as partner because of its shared values, aggressive growth strategy, and commitment to developing the existing team at Ellison.”
This transaction is the ninth by Blackford’s Michigan Prosperity Fund, which invests primarily in Michigan-based companies, as well as neighboring states. Ellison Bakery represents the fund’s first acquisition outside of Michigan. Other portfolio companies in the fund include: Custom Profile (Grand Rapids), Mopec (Oak Park), Grand Transformers (Grand Haven), Burgaflex (Fenton), Dickinson Press (Grand Rapids), Grand Equipment Company (Hudsonville), Quality Aluminum Products (Hastings), and Davalor Mold Company (Chesterfield).
Blackford Capital invests in middle-market manufacturing, distribution, and service companies in both mature and growing industries. Target companies will have revenues of $20 million to $100 million and EBITDAs of $2 million to $20 million. Blackford currently has 14 portfolio companies located across the United States. The firm has offices in Grand Rapids, MI (headquarters) and Santa Monica, CA (www.blackfordcapital.com).
Generational Capital Markets (www.gencm.com) was the financial advisor to Ellison Bakery on this transaction. Debt financing was provided by Comerica Bank (www.comerica.com).
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | April 24, 2017
