CenterOak Partners has completed a majority investment in Wetzel’s Pretzels, the second largest owner and franchisor of soft pretzel stores.
Wetzel’s menu includes fresh baked soft pretzels, Wetzel Dogs, Wetzel Bitz pretzel bites, fresh lemonade and other beverages. The company’s stores are located in shopping malls, outlet centers, theme parks, discount retail stores, train stations and airports and today totals 305 locations in 28 states and six countries. Wetzel’s was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Pasadena, CA (www.wetzels.com).
“Our company has achieved significant growth since Rick Wetzel and I founded Wetzel’s Pretzels in 1994, but we know that there is opportunity to further develop our brand,” said Bill Phelps, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Wetzel’s Pretzels. “CenterOak’s team has a long track record of building value in consumer companies as well as partnering with companies to expand their footprint within the US. We look forward to leveraging the firm’s expertise to continue to support and grow our network of franchise partners and to bring innovative new products to market.”
CenterOak makes equity investments of $20 million to $90 million in companies with enterprise values of $50 million to $250 million. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, consumer and business services. The firm held a final close of its first fund – CenterOak Equity Fund I, LP – with total commitments at the hard cap of $420 million in August 2016. CenterOak was launched in September 2014 by Randall Fojtasek, former co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Brazos Private Equity Partners. He leads the firm alongside former Brazos senior executives Michael Salim, Lucas Cutler, Jason Sutherland and William Henry. These five executives have worked together for nearly 15 years. CenterOak is headquartered in Dallas (www.centeroakpartners.com).
“Wetzel’s has demonstrated consistent, stable growth in its more than two decades of operation, and has developed an exceptional brand,” said Mr. Fojtasek, Managing Partner of CenterOak. “Our proven approach of identifying opportunities for operational improvement and experience expanding companies’ product offerings and reach makes us well suited to support the company and its management team’s strategic vision.”
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (www.gibsondunn.com) provided legal counsel to CenterOak and Golub Capital (www.golub.com) provided financing for the transaction. North Point Advisors (www.nptadvisors.com) was the financial adviser to Wetzel’s Pretzels.
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 9-8-16