Shore Capital Partners has acquired Main Street Gourmet, an Akron-based wholesale bakery.
Main Street Gourmet’s (MSG) provides frozen baked goods, including muffins, cookies, granola, brownies and bars to retail in-store bakery and specialty foodservice customers across the United States. The company operates out of an SQF (Safe Quality Foods) certified 68,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility near Akron in Cuyahoga Falls, OH and has 160 employees. MSG was founded in 1987 by Steve Marks and Harvey Nelson (www.mainstreetgourmet.com).
Shore is partnering on this transaction with Mr. Marks and Mr. Nelson, the entire MSG management team, and the previous majority shareholder, Clover Capital Partners which acquired the company in April 2011.
“Our partnership with Shore Capital will allow us to accelerate our organic growth through expanding on our product capabilities, serving additional retail in-store bakeries and specialty foodservice customers, and broadening our footprint by pursuing acquisitions with other differentiated bakeries in adjacent categories and channels,” said Mr. Nelson, CEO of MSG.
Shore’s plan for MSG includes expanding its business development, sales and marketing, and production capabilities and exploring both add-on acquisitions and organic growth through adjacent product lines, new customers and distribution channels.
“We could not be more excited to partner with the entire MSG team and look forward to creating a leading multi-regional bakery platform in the US with a diverse range of high-quality products, manufacturing capabilities and commitment to superior customer service,” said Richard Boos, a partner at Shore Capital. “Harvey, Steve and Clover Capital have built an excellent business model focused on custom and solutions-driven products for its in-store bakery and foodservice customers and we will work hard to collaborate with them to build on their success.”
Chicago-based Shore Capital invests in lower middle-market healthcare, and food and beverage companies. In April 2019, Shore closed its third healthcare-focused fund, Shore Capital Healthcare Partners Fund III LP, with $293 million of capital; and its inaugural food and beverage fund, Shore Capital Food & Beverage Partners Fund I LP (F&B Fund I), with $148 million of capital.
In the food and beverage sector, Shore invests in manufacturers, distributors, packagers, and business-to-business service companies that have between $5 million and $100 million of revenue. F&B Fund I is led by partners Justin Ishbia and Richard Boos. Mr. Boos joined Shore in October 2018 from Chicago-based food and beverage investor Arbor Investments.
Clover Capital Partners makes control and growth equity investments in companies that have up to $50 million of revenues and are active in the food and beverage industries. The firm is led by David Choe and Alex Schneider and has offices in Los Angeles, CA and Evanston, IL (www.clovercp.com).
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | September 19, 2019
