bakery

Surge’s Global Bakeries Buys Better Baking

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Global Bakeries, a portfolio company of Surge Private Equity, has acquired Better Baking Co., a maker of cookies, bread, and pitas that are sold to local markets and national chains.

The buy of Van Nuys-based Better Baking is the second add-on for Global Bakeries in 2019. In March, Global Bakeries acquired Bubbles Baking, a maker of more than 300 SKUs of cakes, pastries, breads, rolls, pies, and cheesecakes that are sold to large grocery stores and commercial retailers. The company also provides contract baking services to pastry manufacturers and distributors. Bubbles Baking, like Better Baking, is headquartered in Van Nuys, CA. All three facilities of Global Bakeries operate within a 10-mile radius of one another.

Better Baking was acquired from Ash Aghasi who now becomes the Chief Operating Officer of Global Bakeries. “We are excited to partner with Ash, as Better Baking has established itself as a manufacturer of premium bakery products in the regional LA market. Add to that the synergies in our operational geography, it became a no-brainer to acquire such a parallel company,” said Mr. Botticella.

Global Bakeries, acquired by Surge Private Equity in November 2018, is a maker of non-GMO bread products such as pita bread, pita chips, bagels, organic flatbread, and croissants that are sold to grocery stores (including Trader Joe’s), bakeries, and restaurants. The company also offers contract manufacturing services to national and regional food manufacturers and retailers. Pacoima, CA-based Global Bakeries was founded in 1985 and is led by CEO Chris Botticella.

“This acquisition greatly expands our product line, allows Global to reach new customers, and enables us to offer our existing customers higher quality service,” said Lewis Sharp, a partner at Surge Private Equity. “Ash brings over 25 years of operational experience and has proven his knack for creating quality products. We are thrilled about this partnership.”

Surge Private Equity invests in companies that have from $1.5 million to $7 million of EBITDA and enterprise values of $7 million to $30 million. Sectors of interest include business services, healthcare, online businesses, and specialty manufacturing. The firm was founded in 2017 and is based in Dallas (www.SurgePE.com).

The Firmament Group (formerly known as McLarty Capital Partners) provided debt financing to support the buy of Better Baking.

© 2019 Private Equity Professional | September 9, 2019

Markel Ventures Acquires Tromp Bakery Equipment

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Markel Ventures announced today that its portfolio company AMF Bakery Systems has completed the acquisition of Tromp Bakery Equipment, a supplier of baking equipment. “We are excited to join forces with Tromp,” stated Ken Newsome, president of AMF. “This strategic addition enables us to leverage our position as a global leader in high-speed bread and bun bakery systems and expand our offering into the growing specialty bakery sector,” said Bas Tromp, the company’s founder, who will continue as president.

Tromp Bakery Equipment designs and manufactures sheeting lines for pizza, pastry, pie and bread bakers worldwide. The company is based in Gorinchem, the Netherlands (www.tromp.nl).

AMF Bakery Systems is a leader in industrial baking systems, specializing in pan bread and bun manufacturing equipment. AMF has manufacturing plants in Richmond, VA; Atlanta, GA; Sherbrooke, Canada; and Tianjin, China with sales offices in Leeds, UK; Singapore and Beijing. The company was founded in 1916 and is based in Richmond, VA (www.amfbakery.com).

Markel Ventures is a subsidiary of Markel Corporation, a financial holding company with insurance, industrial, and service operations serving a variety of niche markets. Markel Ventures was established to acquire majority control of companies with revenues from $25 million to $250 million and EBITDAs from $5 million to $50 million. Sectors of interest include diversified manufacturing; service and value-added distribution; consumer and industrial products; capital equipment; and healthcare. The firm is based in Glen Allen, VA (www.markelcorp.com).

“As I thought about the future of my company, I wanted to find a partner with similar values who would continue to build on our previous accomplishments. AMF, with its affiliation with Markel, is very unique, and I think this organization will best serve our customers and the people who helped build this company,” said Mr. Tromp.