Vestar Capital Partners has agreed to acquire Nonni’s Food Group, a manufacturer and marketer of artisanal cookies and other baked snacks, from Wind Point Partners.
Nonni’s Food Group is a producer, marketer, and distributor of branded specialty cookies and baked goods. The company sells its products under the Nonni’s, THINaddictives, and La Dolce Vita brands through the club, grocery, mass market, foodservice, and online retailing channels. According to Wind Point, Nonni’s Biscotti is the number one-selling biscotti in the US and the only national brand sold coast to coast.
Nonni’s operates four facilities in Ferndale, NY; Glendale, AZ; Tulsa, OK; and Montreal, QC and is headquartered near Chicago in Oakbrook Terrace, IL (www.nonnis.com).
Wind Point has a long history with Nonni’s. The firm first acquired the company in April 2004 from Swander Pace Capital and then sold the business to Greek food company Vivitaria SA for $320 million in 2008. In 2009 Nonni’s became part of Chipita America when Vivitaria spit up into four separate businesses. Then in January 2011 Wind Point reacquired Nonni’s from Chipita America.
During the term of its second ownership Wind Point completed two add-on acquisitions for Nonni’s. In January 2012, Nonni’s acquired THINaddictives, a producer of specialty thin biscotti cookies; and in January 2013, Nonni’s acquired La Dolce Vita, a producer of Italian biscotti and specialty cookies.
“We’re excited for management and Vestar to continue to build on Nonni’s category-leading position and its track record of success,” said Konrad Salaber, a Managing Director at Wind Point. “Nonni’s is a great example of how Wind Point’s strategy of partnering with top caliber CEOs can transform a business. The Nonni’s team executed against a value creation plan that dramatically increased the company’s scale, materially enhanced profit margins, and positioned the business extremely well for its next phase of robust growth.”
“Our partnership with Wind Point has been extraordinarily successful and we thank them for their support and contributions to Nonni’s,” said Brian Hansberry, CEO of Nonni’s. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Vestar as we look to build upon Nonni’s growth and success. The Vestar team’s deep consumer experience will be invaluable as we work to expand our customer relationships, enter new channels, and continue to introduce new and innovative products to the marketplace.”
Vestar specializes in management buyouts and growth capital investments. The firm targets equity investments from $50 million to $150 million in middle-market companies with enterprise values ranging from $250 million to $1 billion. Sectors of interest include consumer; diversified industries; healthcare; and financial services. Since the firm’s founding in 1988, Vestar has completed more than 80 investments in companies with a total value of more than $50 billion. Vestar has offices in New York, Boston, and Denver (www.vestarcapital.com).
“We see numerous growth avenues for Nonni’s premium, established brands,” said Brian O’Connor, Managing Director of Vestar and co-head of the firm’s consumer group. “We are excited to be partnering with Brian Hansberry, Chris Puma, and the rest of Nonni’s management team to pursue our shared vision for the company.”
Wind Point invests from $30 million to $150 million in companies with revenues from $100 million to $500 million and EBITDAs of at least $10 million. Industries of interest include business services, consumer products, healthcare and industrial products. Wind Point was founded in 1984 and is based in Chicago. Last month, Wind Point held a final closing of its eighth fund, Wind Point Partners VIII, with $985 million of capital commitments. The fund exceeded its initial hard cap of $750 million and marks the largest fund closing in Wind Point’s history (www.wppartners.com).
Houlihan Lokey was the financial advisor to Nonni’s. Antares and Northwestern Mutual Capital provided financing for the transaction.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | November 14, 2017
