Lindsay Goldberg has agreed to acquire Golden State Foods, a supplier to the foodservice and retail industries, in partnership with the Wetterau family.
Golden State Foods (GSF) core businesses include processing and distributing liquid products (sauces, dressings, condiments, syrups, and toppings), meat products (hamburger patties and other beef products), produce, and dairy products to more than 125,000 restaurants across five continents.
According to the company, GSF is one of the largest diversified food service and retail suppliers responsible for feeding one billion people daily. GSF’s top five customers are McDonald’s, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, KFC, and Taco Bell.
GSF was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Irvine, California. The company has over 6,000 employees and operates through 50 locations across the United States, Egypt, Australia, New Zealand, and China. Post-closing, GSF will continue to operate from its headquarters in Irvine, California, with Brian Dick remaining as the company’s president and CEO.
“From GSF’s beginning, our focus has been the same – make the best products and provide the best service. We have operated true to our vision and strategic objectives over the past nearly eight decades by maintaining the highest standards, pursuing mutual success with our customers, and investing in our most valuable asset, our people,” said Mr. Dick. “Lindsay Goldberg shares our core values and is committed to helping us achieve our long-term objectives while maintaining our customer-focused approach.”
In May 2023, GSF’s prior chairman and chief executive officer, Mark Wetterau, passed away after 25 years of service and leadership to GSF. “The Wetterau families look forward to strategically partnering with Lindsay Goldberg going forward and continuing to meaningfully engage in the future of GSF with Stephen Wetterau and myself representing our families by continuing to serve as active GSF board members,” said Conrad Wetterau, the chairman of GSF and the brother of Mark Wetterau. “We appreciate the leadership and partnership of the GSF management team in our ongoing endeavors as we focus on pursuing long-term mutual success with our valued customers.”
“Lindsay Goldberg’s relationship-driven business-building approach and longstanding experience in the quick and limited-service restaurant food supply chain make us uniquely positioned to partner with the Wetterau family and GSF management team,” said Eric Fry and Peter Nurnberg, partners at Lindsay Goldberg, in a released statement. “We greatly respect GSF and its talented, dedicated associates and look forward to our partnership with the entire GSF family.”
New York City-based Lindsay Goldberg manages $13 billion of equity capital and invests in family-owned and entrepreneur‐led businesses across various sectors, including industrials, business, government, and financial services. Since 2001, the firm has raised over $20 billion of equity capital and invested in over 60 platform companies and over 250 add-on acquisitions.
“Golden State Foods is a leader among its peers, having distinguished itself by consistently delivering the highest quality products and services to its customers, and we look forward to partnering with the Wetterau family, the GSF management team, and all GSF associates to continue to serve these customers,” said Russell Triedman, a managing partner of Lindsay Goldberg.
Rothschild & Co. was GSF’s financial advisor, and Harris Williams and Stifel advised Lindsay Goldberg.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | August 13, 2024
