Incline Equity Partners has acquired Starwest Botanicals, a distributor of organic botanicals, herbs and spices to specialty retailers, manufacturers and e-commerce sellers.
Starwest stocks more than one million pounds and 3,000 SKUs of herbs and spices. The company sells to more than 10,000 customers and, according to the company, it is one of the largest suppliers of organic herbs in the United States.
Sacramento, California-based Starwest was founded in 1975 by Van Joerger and has more than 150,000 sq. ft. of warehouse and production space.
“Incline has an impressive track record of successfully partnering with founder-owned distribution businesses,” said Mr. Joerger. “With their expertise, we will accelerate growth through strategic investments in marketing and channel management, accretive acquisitions and infrastructure and technology that will improve operational performance.”
“Starwest has a strong customer value proposition from their global supply chain, wide breadth of products and strong processing and quality control capabilities,” said Justin Bertram, a senior partner with Incline. “Their impressive track record of long-term, profitable growth is driven from their diversified and fragmented customer base that caters to consumer staple end markets. We are excited to partner with Van and the management team to support the next phase of growth.”
Twin Brook Capital Partners served as administrative agent on debt financing to support Incline’s acquisition of Starwest. Chicago-based Twin Brook focuses on loans to private equity-owned companies with EBITDA between $3 million and $50 million, with an emphasis on companies with $25 million of EBITDA and below. The firm targets senior financing opportunities up to $200 million, with hold sizes across the platform ranging from $25 million up to $150 million. Twin Brook’s products include opportunistic investments in second lien, mezzanine, and equity co-investments.
Pittsburgh-based Incline Equity was formed in 2011 and is led by its senior partners, Jack Glover, Justin Bertram, and Leon Rubinov. In January 2020, Incline closed its fifth fund, Incline Equity Partners V LP, with nearly $1.2 billion of capital. Incline generally invests in growing companies with enterprise values of $25 million to $450 million.
© 2021 Private Equity Professional | June 8, 2021
Traductions Serge Bélair (TRSB), a portfolio company of HKW, has acquired Anglocom, a language services provider. The buy of Anglocom is the first add-on acquisition for TRSB since being acquired by HKW in December 2019.
Montreal-headquartered 
“The partnership between TRSB and Anglocom further compliments TRSB’s footprint in the translation industry,” said Michael Terrell, a senior associate at HKW. “As the first add-on acquisition for TRSB, this supports our M&A growth strategy to fulfill client demand in the translation industry.”
Butterfly Equity has acquired Pete and Gerry’s Organics, a producer of free-range and pasture-raised eggs.
“We are thrilled to partner with Jesse and the Pete and Gerry’s team to help them bring healthy, delicious and humanely raised eggs to even more homes across the country,” said Adam Waglay, a co-founder and co-CEO of Butterfly. “We believe the company’s future is incredibly bright as the market leader in the premium egg category.”
“Pete and Gerry’s is a forward-thinking, mission-driven company that provides a better egg to consumers, a better life for hens and a better model for America’s small family farmers,” said Mr. Beck. “Butterfly is absolutely aligned with their mission and looks forward to supporting the team to continue these efforts.”
Bestop, a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, has acquired Marshall Genuine Products (MGP).
According to Kinderhook, 
“Bestop continues to execute on its acquisition thesis, acquiring top tier brands with strong customer relationships. MGP is known for its high-quality products and easy installation process. We will continue to focus on these principles for MGP and across the Bestop portfolio,” said Tom Tuttle, a managing director of Kinderhook.
New York City-based 
American Pacific, a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners (AEI), has made an investment in Frontier Aerospace.
“Guidance navigation and control and in-space propulsion are critical to the national defense and space industries, and we are pleased to have American Pacific partner with a company on the cutting edge of next-generation liquid propulsion technologies,” said Kirk Konert, a partner at AEI. “We’re excited about the possibilities that a partnership between two well-respected leaders can offer.”
Boca Raton-based 
Rainier Partners has acquired Calpine Containers, one of the West Coast’s largest packaging distributors serving the agriculture industry.
“Calpine’s track record of exceptional service, quality products, and fair pricing provides a solid foundation upon which we are excited to build,” said Alex Rolfe, a managing partner of Rainier. “We look forward to working with Walt and the entire Calpine team.”
“Calpine has a well-earned reputation as a dependable partner to its customers. We are thrilled Calpine has chosen to partner with us and look forward to supporting management as Calpine extends its 125-year history,” said Jon Altman, a managing partner of Rainier.
TZP Group has acquired a majority equity interest in Akerson Enterprises (DBA Kindred Bravely) a provider of maternity apparel.
“We are so glad to be partnering with TZP,” said Ms. Akerson, who along with her husband, Garret, will continue as co-CEOs and maintain a significant stake in the business. “We met with many of the professionals at TZP and were impressed by their ‘Partner of Choice’ culture and their ability to add value through their extensive experience in direct-to-consumer brands.”
“Kindred Bravely is an incredible brand with a loyal and growing customer base,” said Dan Gaspar, a partner at TZP. “We are excited to partner with the Akersons and the Kindred Bravely team as the company continues its rapid growth trajectory.”
New York City-based 
Branford Castle has acquired Lafayette Instrument, a maker of polygraph equipment and other scientific instruments.
“Steve and I are proud of our family’s leadership of Lafayette over the last 25 years,” said Ms. Rider. “We are excited about this new chapter of the company’s development as we work with Branford Castle to provide the best service to our customers and achieve new levels of growth.”
“We are excited to partner with Jennifer and Steve Rider at Lafayette,” said Laurence Lederer, a senior managing director at Branford Castle. “The company’s long-standing position as the leader in the polygraph market, along with their growing suite of proprietary neuroscience products, make it a terrific platform for continued growth.” In addition to Mr. Lederer, the Branford transaction team included Vice President Ceon Francis.
New York City-based 
Brynwood Partners, through its eighth fund, has acquired De Wafelbakkers from The Oklahoma Publishing Company, a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation.
“We are pleased to announce the acquisition of De Wafelbakkers,” said Henk Hartong III, the chairman and CEO of Brynwood. “Brynwood already has a presence in the breakfast category through its dry mix offerings with its Hungry Jack and Arrowhead Mills brands, owned by Brynwood portfolio company Hometown Food Company. We also have extensive experience in the frozen manufacturing space and believe that we can partner with the management team to accelerate performance in the De Wafelbakkers business. The frozen pancake, waffle and French toast market is a growing space, and we are excited to be invested in the category with such a significant manufacturing player.”
Greenwich, Connecticut-based 
