C.H. Guenther & Son has acquired Cookietree Bakeries, a producer of thaw-and-serve cookies and bake-and-serve cookie dough. C.H. Guenther & Son, a producer of branded and private label food products, was acquired by PPC Partners in April 2018.
Cookietree supplies thaw-and-serve cookies and bake-and-serve cookie dough to quick-service restaurants, fast-casual restaurants, club stores and retailers located in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The company also produces brownies, bars, scones and shortbread. All of the company’s products are manufactured in its 100,000 sq. ft. Salt Lake City facility that is SQF certified, kosher certified and halal certified.
Cookietree, led by its founder and CEO Greg Schenk, was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City (www.cookietree.com).
C.H. Guenther & Son (CHG) manufactures and markets a wide variety of grain-based and seasoning products, including artisan breads, buns, rolls, biscuits, gravy mixes, frozen appetizers, spices and desserts. Company-owned brand names include Pioneer gravies, seasonings and baking products; Morrison mixes; Tribeca artisan breads; Sun-Bird Asian seasonings; Cuisine Adventure frozen appetizers and snack products; and White Wings tortilla mixes. CHG’s products are sold globally to the foodservice, quick serve restaurant, club and retail sectors. CHG employs over 2,500 people in 19 food manufacturing locations in the US, Canada and Western Europe. The company, led by CEO Dale Tremblay, was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in San Antonio (www.chg.com).
“Greg Schenk and his team have built Cookietree into a market leader in the dessert space. Their customer-centric culture and commitment to innovation are well-aligned with our core values,” said Mr. Tremblay. “We look forward to leveraging our combined capabilities and providing value for customers for years to come.”
Post-close, Cookietree will continue to operate under the Cookietree brand and production will continue at Cookietree’s Salt Lake City facility. With this acquisition, CHG now has more than 3,000 employees and 21 food manufacturing locations in the US, Canada and Western Europe.
“CHG is led by an outstanding team with a proven track record of growth, both organically and through acquisition,” said Chris Trick, a principal at PPC Partners. “The acquisition of Cookietree demonstrates PPC’s commitment to CHG and to partnering with industry leaders to deliver innovative products and excellent customer service. We will continue to support CHG and Cookietree as they look to deliver value to their customers.”
PPC Partners acquires North America-based middle-market companies that have enterprise values between $100 million and $750 million and EBITDA in excess of $15 million. Sectors of interest include manufactured products, services and healthcare. The firm is led by Tony Pritzker and the former investment and operating professionals of Pritzker Group Private Capital. In July 2018, PPC Partners held a final closing of PPC Fund II LP at its hard cap of $1.8 billion. Fundraising for the new fund was launched in late 2017 and exceeded its original target of $1.5 billion. PPC Partners has offices in Chicago and Los Angeles (www.PPCPartners.com).
El Segundo, CA-based Cody Peak Advisors (www.codypeakadv.com) was the financial advisor to Cookietree on this transaction.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | August 6, 2018
