Audax Private Equity has acquired specialty food producer Stonewall Kitchen, in partnership with the company’s management team, from Centre Partners.
Stonewall Kitchen is a manufacturer, retailer and wholesaler of sauces, pasta, condiments, crackers, jams and jellies, spices, syrups, and baking mixes. In addition to its Stonewall Kitchen brand, other company-owned brands include Tillen Farms (pickled vegetables and cocktail cherries); Napa Valley Naturals (olive oils, culinary oils, balsamic vinegars, and wine vinegars), Montebello (organic pasta), and Legal Sea Foods (seafood sauces and condiments).
Stonewall Kitchen sells its products to more than 6,000 wholesale accounts nationwide and internationally. The company also operates a cooking school and café in both York, ME and Costa Mesa, CA; and nine retail company stores throughout New England. Stonewall Kitchen was founded in 1991 by Jonathan King and Jim Stott and is headquartered in York, ME (www.stonewallkitchen.com).
Under Audax ownership, the company will continue to be led by existing management, with John Stiker remaining as chief executive officer, Lori King as president and chief operating officer, and Natalie King as executive vice president.
Under Centre Partners ownership, which began in October 2014, Stonewall Kitchen expanded its national distribution and completed the acquisitions of Tillen Farms in January 2018 and Spruce Naturals, the owner of the Napa Valley Naturals and Montebello brands, in November 2018. In May 2018, the company signed a licensing agreement with Legal Sea Foods, a Boston-based restaurant company, to market and sell a line of seafood-related sauces, marinades, and spices. These growth initiatives have nearly doubled the size of the company.
“In partnership with the management team, we established Stonewall Kitchen as the premier specialty foods platform in North America through strategic expansion into new channels, categories, customers and brands,” said David Jaffe, a managing partner of Centre Partners. “Stonewall Kitchen is well-positioned for continued growth, and we wish the team success under new ownership.”
“As a New England-based company ourselves, we’re excited to invest in Stonewall Kitchen and partner with John and the rest of the team,” said Jay Mitchell, a managing director of Audax. “The culture and business practices at Stonewall Kitchen are a great match with Audax’s own philosophy and values, and we believe that our buy and build investment strategy, combined with their expertise in the specialty food industry, can transform the company into a more substantial enterprise.”
Audax invests in middle-market companies that have from $8 million to $50 million in EBITDA and enterprise values of $50 million to $400 million. Sectors of interest include business and consumer services; energy; healthcare; technology, media and telecom; and industrials including chemicals, infrastructure and building materials. Audax has offices in Boston, New York and San Francisco (www.audaxgroup.com).
“It has been a pleasure collaborating with the Centre team to execute on our shared vision for Stonewall Kitchen,” said Mr. Stiker. “We were able to achieve significant growth while maintaining Stonewall Kitchen’s authenticity and reputation for great-tasting, innovative products.”
Centre Partners invests from $10 million to $50 million in North American based middle-market companies that have $30 million to $300 million in revenue and $5 million to $40 million in EBITDA. Sectors of interest include branded and private label consumer, and healthcare. Centre Partners was founded in 1986 and has offices in New York and Los Angeles (www.centrepartners.com).
Baird was the financial advisor to Stonewall Kitchen on this transaction.
