Arbor Investments in partnership with management and CEO Timothy Fallon has completed the acquisition of Columbus Manufacturing, a branded manufacturer of salumi and related deli meat products, and a portfolio company of Endeavour Capital.
“We were drawn to Columbus due to the company’s unrivaled quality products and exceptional management team led by well-regarded food industry CEO Timothy Fallon,” said Ryan McKenzie of Arbor Investments. “Columbus’ family of products are simply peerless in all respects, from the use of proprietary spice blends and old world recipes, to their hand-crafted manufacturing processes. The Columbus brand is synonymous with unmatched quality and our investment objective is to build upon their 95 year tradition and foundation to increase the availability of Columbus’ gourmet level salame and deli products across North America.”
Columbus Manufacturing is a branded manufacturer of retail ready, super premium, artisanal salumi and related deli meat products. Salumi are Italian cured meat products and predominantly made from pork (Editor’s note: “salami” is the plural of “salame” which is a type of “salumi”). Products are exclusively sold through supermarkets, club stores and specialty grocery stores across North America. Columbus operates three manufacturing facilities in the San Francisco area occupying more than 270,000 square feet and has the capability to manufacture a wide variety of products such as finocchiona, genoa and calabrese salame. The company was established by the Domenici and Parducci families in 1917 and is headquartered in Hayward, CA (www.columbussalame.com).
The company will continue to operate out of its existing facilities and will be led by Timothy Fallon, CEO and his senior management team. “We are thrilled to be in business with Tim Fallon,” said Mr. McKenzie. “Few food and beverage CEOs possess his track record of building companies such as Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of New York, Vermont Pure Holdings, Annie’s Homegrown Natural Foods, Kettle Foods and Columbus Manufacturing. Equally as impressive is the depth of the management team with seasoned food industry veterans from Procter & Gamble, Nestle, General Mills, Coors, ConAgra, and Del Monte.”
Arbor invests in the food, beverage and related industries. The firm has acquired or invested in over 30 food and beverage companies in North America and currently has $700 million of assets under management across three funds. Arbor was founded in 1999 and is based in Chicago (www.arborpic.com).
“We are very excited about our investment in Columbus,” said Gregory Purcell of Arbor Investments. “We believe that now more than ever consumers are educated about the overly processed nature of the majority of meat products on the market and want superior quality and freshness when they purchase Italian salumi and premium deli meat at the grocery store. Columbus’ use of whole muscle meat with no artificial binders, fillers and colors, and breadth of natural product offerings, delivers the quality and taste profile that consumers are seeking.”
Endeavour Capital, which acquired Columbus in 2006, invests from $25 million to $100 million of equity in middle market companies with EBITDA’s of $5 million to $50 million. Sectors of interest include: transportation and logistics; food and consumer; education and training; niche manufacturing; business services; and healthcare. Endeavour is currently investing its sixth fund and has over $1.5 of assets under management. The firm was founded in 1991 and has offices in Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Denver (www.endeavourcapital.com).
BMO Capital Markets advised Columbus and Endeavour in the transaction. DLA Piper served as Arbor’s legal counsel and Perkins Coie served as counsel to Columbus.
© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 10-19-12
