AUA Private Equity has acquired Western Smokehouse Partners from Monogram Capital Partners and Charis Consumer Partners.
Western Smokehouse is a contract manufacturer (co-packing, private label, and branded products) of smoked meat snacks for emerging and established brands, as well as large retailers. The company’s beef, turkey, chicken, and pork products are available in sticks, bites, and strips and include organic, non-GMO, plant-based, and free-range options.
The founding of Western Smokehouse Partners dates to 1978 when Sam Western founded Western’s Smokehouse in Greentop, Missouri, and Jim Hankes founded Thrushwood Farms Quality Meats in Galesburg, Illinois. In 2018, Monogram and Charis formed Western Smokehouse Partners to acquire Western’s Smokehouse. In 2019, the company added on with the buy of Thrushwood Farms, and in 2020 added on again with the acquisition of Prairie Sky Snacks, a Springfield, Illinois-based contract manufacturer of meat snacks, from the founding Turasky family.
The company, led by CEO Matt Bormann, is headquartered in Greentop, Missouri, and operates three production facilities in Illinois (2) and Missouri. An additional 100,000-square-foot facility will open in Burlington, Iowa in May 2023.
“Our newly established partnership with Western Smokehouse is an exciting opportunity for AUA and we are grateful to be able to partner with such a great team,” said Andy Unanue, the managing partner of AUA. “Western is a growing food manufacturing business that has maintained a collaborative and entrepreneurial culture established by its founding families decades ago; this represents the core of AUA’s investment ethos. We are eager to continue to build upon the company’s ongoing success.”
AUA is an active investor in the snacking and food sector. Back in October 2022, AUA sold TruFood Manufacturing, a contract manufacturer of snack foods, to Mubadala Capital. During AUA’s three-year ownership term, TruFood created a research and development center, invested in new production capabilities, and closed a complementary add-on acquisition with the buy of Simply Natural Foods, a New York-based co-manufacturer of protein bars.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Western as AUA has a demonstrated history of supporting and scaling contract manufacturing businesses in the snacking and food space broadly,” said Mr. Bormann. “Our new partnership with AUA will enable us to accelerate growth and further develop our capabilities to better serve our customers. We are thrilled to join the AUA family and look forward to leveraging their resources and experience to continue to build upon our success to date and carry on the legacy of the founding Western, Hankes, and Turasky families.”
“We have been highly impressed by the Western Smokehouse team and their success in building a best-in-class business while maintaining a culture rooted in its humble origins,” said David Benyaminy, a partner at AUA. “AUA has a proven history of growing co-manufacturing businesses and supporting management teams with the capital and resources necessary to execute on a shared vision of growth. We look forward to working with management in this next chapter.” The AUA transaction team was led by Mr. Benyaminy, Vice President Brian Krouskos, Senior Associate Nicolas Pflaum, and Associate Trip Ewig.
Harris Williams was the financial advisor to Western Smokehouse with Managing Director Ryan Freeman, Director Brant Wilczek, and Vice President Hilary King as members of its transaction team. “Better-for-you snacking continues to be a sector that garners investor attention,” said Mr. Freeman. “Western Smokehouse, alongside its partner brands, played a critical role in the proliferation of crafted meat snacks and is well-positioned to continue driving and supporting growth in the category. We are excited to watch the company’s continued success under AUA’s ownership.”
AUA Private Equity makes equity investments from $20 million to $75 million in companies with at least $5 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include consumer products and services with a focus on family-owned and Hispanic-oriented businesses. AUA is known for using low leverage to acquire companies and focusing on operational improvements rather than financial engineering to create stakeholder value. In May 2021, AUA held a final and oversubscribed closing of AUA Private Equity Fund II LP with total capital commitments of $310 million. AUA was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Monogram invests from $5 million to $30 million in companies with revenues of $5 million to $50 million. Sectors of interest include apparel and accessories, beauty and personal care, pet products, consumer healthcare, food and beverage, and restaurants. Monogram was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.
Charis Consumer Partners is an investor in United States-based companies that have from $2 million to $8 million in EBITDA and are active in the food and beverage, health and nutrition, pet, beauty and personal care, ingredients, and packaging sectors. The firm, led by CEO Ben Rudman, has offices in Denver and Portland.
Grant Thornton and L.E.K. Consulting advised AUA Private Equity on the acquisition of Western Smokehouse.
© 2023 Private Equity Professional | March 31, 2023
Sverica Capital Management has closed an investment in Hirebotics, a provider of short or long-term robot rental services and cloud-connected operating technology support.
“We are pleased to partner with Rob, Matt and Zach to help them develop and execute a growth strategy into an exciting and evolving area of manufacturing,” said Dave Finley, a managing partner at Sverica. “Hirebotics’ impressive performance has them literally leading the development of a new market and is a testament to their collective business acumen, corporate culture and customer-focused model.”
Eureka Equity Partners has acquired Advertiser Perceptions with senior debt and an equity co-investment from Abacus Finance. Abacus was the Senior Secured Credit Facilities Administrative Agent and Sole Lender.
“Abacus provided us with tremendous support early on in this transaction and fully delivered on their promise to provide seamless execution,” said Lisa Millhauser, a principal at Eureka Equity. “We are excited to be partnering with Abacus in support of Advertiser Perception’s continued growth.”
“We were pleased to have had the opportunity to complete our first transaction with the Eureka Equity team,” said Mr. Clifford. “Our ability to meet Eureka’s desire for a smooth execution in a short timeframe is just one of the many attributes of our Total Partnership Approach™.”
Philadelphia-based 
LongRange Capital has added Andrew Cialino to its team as a principal and head of business development. In his new position, Mr. Cialino will oversee deal origination and sourcing activities at the firm.
Earlier in Mr. Cialino’s career, he was the head of sales and a member of the senior executive team at Axial Networks. Mr. Cialino has his undergraduate degree in economics from the College of the Holy Cross and his MBA from Columbia.
Heartwood Partners has acquired NativeSeed Group, a provider of seeds and erosion control products.
“We are excited to partner with NativeSeed and its management team,” said James Sidwa, a partner at Heartwood. “The company has developed a highly differentiated, vertically integrated platform to provide solutions for its customers to help establish native plant communities that are appropriate for their local geographies and climates. Native plant communities are hearty, more drought tolerant, promote diverse habitats, and help restore lands damaged by development or natural disasters.”
Connecticut-based 
Hasa, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners, has acquired Orenda Technologies, a manufacturer and supplier of specialty pool chemicals.
“Orenda represents an excellent addition to the Hasa platform,” said Peter Leemputte, a principal at Wind Point. “Acquisitions are a focal point of our value creation plan for Hasa, and we are excited to inaugurate our M&A program with the acquisition of such a high-quality business like Orenda.”
Chicago-based 
DW Healthcare Partners (DWHP) has closed its latest fund, DW Healthcare Partners Small Cap LP (“Founders Fund”) with $210 million in capital commitments.
“We believe that our deep industry knowledge and operational expertise will be of great value to the companies partnering with us through the Founders Fund,” said Gabe Becher, a managing director at DWHP. “We are grateful that new and existing investors have entrusted us with pursuing these smaller organizations through the Founders Fund.”
Parthenon Capital has held a first, final, and above-target closing of Parthenon Investors VII LP with more than $4.5 billion in commitments. The new fund had an original target of $3.5 billion.
Last month, Parthenon acquired Titan Wealth Holdings, a London-headquartered financial services firm that provides execution, custody, clearing, and wealth management services to small and medium-sized broker-dealers, traders, intermediaries, family offices, and wealth managers. Existing Titan Wealth investors – Ares Management and Maven Capital Partners – remain invested in Titan Wealth in partnership with Parthenon. The buy of Titan Wealth is Parthenon’s first-ever investment in the United Kingdom.
“We appreciate the swift, significant support we received from existing limited partners and are excited to welcome an outstanding group of new investors to the Parthenon family,” said Brian Golson, a managing partner and co-chief executive officer at Parthenon. “We feel well positioned for the opportunities ahead.”
Sverica Capital Management has closed its sixth private equity fund, Sverica Capital Partners VI LP, at its hard cap of $750 million of limited partner commitments.
“The success of this fundraise, despite a very challenging environment for raising capital, is a testament to our outstanding team,” said Frank Young, a managing partner at Sverica. “We are fortunate to work with many talented, high-character individuals, and are grateful for their passion, dedication and hard work.”
Arcline Investment Management has closed its third fund with total capital commitments of $4.5 billion.
Recent investments by Arcline include the September 2022 acquisition of Kings III of America, a Texas-based provider of emergency monitoring equipment and services – installation, monitoring and maintenance – to building owners and property managers. The company’s services and products are present in elevators, on pool decks, in stairwells, in parking garages and parking lots, in greenbelts and parks, and in stadiums and arena locations.
