Riverside Acquires Parker Products

The Riverside Company has acquired Parker Products, a developer and manufacturer of specialty ingredients used by food and beverage companies.

Parker Products makes short-run, made-to-order batches of toppings, inclusions, grinds, flavor bases, icings, swirls, coatings and other ingredient related items. The company’s customers include large and small blue chip customers, across various end markets and product categories. Parker Products is headquartered in Fort Worth, TX (www.parkerproducts.com).

“Parker understands what’s trending in the food industry, and has the talent and know-how to meet anticipated needs for a demanding customer base,” said Riverside Managing Partner Suzy Kriscunas. “They are incredibly nimble and respected, which is critical in the dynamic world of food ingredients.”

Parker Products traces its roots back to the late 1920s when the ice cream cone novelty “drumstick” was invented. The ice cream cone concept originated at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis when an ice cream maker at the fair discovered that he ran out of bowls to serve ice cream. He still had ice cream to sell, so he asked a waffle vendor to roll some waffles into cones for his ice cream. In 1928, the Parker Brothers – Bruce, I.C. and J.T. – added to the invention by adding a chocolate coating with nuts to it. One of the brothers’ wives said that this invention looked like a chicken leg and The Drumstick Company was born. The Parker brothers sold the rights to the “Drumstick” brand to Nestlé in 1991.

“Parker has been a nimble thought partner for its customers and has really excelled when presented with complex product opportunities,” said Riverside Vice President Conner Harris. “The overlap of the transaction and this demand presented an opportunity to build out a new, state-of-the-art facility, increase capacity substantially and introduce new capabilities to improve and expand current product lines.”

“Parker is an outstanding company and we’re looking forward to partnering with strong founders that will remain significant owners and their team to accelerate growth,” said Riverside Partner Meranee Phing. “As the food industry changes and consumers demand more unique and clean label products, Parker has the right capabilities, strong growth potential and the track record of being able to deliver for customers. We’re excited to partner with a great leadership team to take the company to new heights.”

The Riverside Company is a global private equity firm focused on investing in and acquiring growing businesses valued at up to $400 million. Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 480 transactions and its portfolio includes more than 80 companies. The firm is headquartered in New York with 16 additional US and international offices (www.riversidecompany.com).

Parker joins a growing portfolio of specialty food and beverage companies at Riverside, and should benefit from the firm’s expertise in this area led by Riverside Senior Food & Beverage Advisor Richard Lan. Riverside will work to source and integrate add-on acquisitions for Parker Products during its hold period.

Working with Ms. Kriscunas, Ms. Phing, Mr. Harris and Mr. Lan on the transaction for Riverside were Senior Associate Fei Ren, Associate Harrison Petts, Operating Partner Ron Savelli, Operating Executive Hayden Cotterill, and Operating Executive, Finance Rob Carraway. Partner Anne Hayes helped secure financing for the transaction. Origination Principal Jim Butterfield sourced the transaction for Riverside.

Madison Capital and GMB Mezzanine Capital provided financing to support the acquisition and Jones Day provided legal services.

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | October 2, 2017