Astara Capital Partners has acquired Wyandot Snacks, a contract manufacturer of grain-based snack foods and cereals.
Wyandot Snacks’ main product lines include corn and tortilla chips; corn puffs and curls; and air and kettle-popped ready-to-eat popcorn. The company’s capabilities include product ideation through development, commercialization, processing and packaging.
Wyandot’s 250,000 sq. ft. manufacturing, warehousing, and headquarters facility is located 50 miles north of Columbus in Marion, Ohio, and it maintains an additional 130,000 sq. ft. offsite warehouse for repackaging and product consolidation.
Wyandot Snacks was founded in 1936 as the Wyandot Popcorn Company by Hoover and Ava Brown. Post-closing, Wyandot chief executive officer, Dewey Armstrong, will continue to lead the company in partnership with Astara.
“We are thrilled to partner with Astara on this exciting new chapter for Wyandot,” said Mr. Armstrong. “Astara’s investment will allow Wyandot to better serve our customers and accelerate our growth – while upholding the legacy and core values instilled by the Brown family that have made Wyandot a success since its founding over 85 years ago.”
“Wyandot is a leading manufacturer of snack foods with long-standing customer relationships and a strong reputation for quality, customer service and product innovation,” said Lindsey Tannenbaum, a partner of Astara. “As a result of Astara’s investment, Wyandot will benefit from being debt-free and having access to significant strategic, operational, and financial resources of Astara.”
Astara’s investment in Wyandot was made through its first fund, Astara Capital Partners Fund I LP, and is the fund’s second portfolio company.
“This is the second investment in our fund and another example of why companies choose to partner with Astara. We have a track record of working collaboratively with family-owned businesses, their management teams, and employees to build upon their existing capabilities and help them achieve their full potential,” said Michael Ranson, a managing partner of Astara. “We acknowledge the trust that the Brown family, who have owned the company for over 85 years, has placed in us and we look forward to a terrific partnership with them.”
Astara’s first Fund I investment was the November 2022 buy of Del-Air Heating and Air Conditioning, a Florida-based provider of residential and light commercial HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services.
Astara invests from $10 million to $100 million in North America-based companies that have more than $40 million of revenue and have enterprise values up to $250 million. Sectors of interest include aerospace and defense; building products; food processing, distribution, and equipment; forest products; industrial manufacturing, distribution, and services; and packaging and converting. Astara was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in New York City.
© 2023 Private Equity Professional | January 24, 2023
