Peak Rock Capital has signed an agreement to acquire the TNT Crust business, a manufacturer and distributor of pizza crusts, from Tyson Foods. This sale is part of Tyson’s announced strategy to focus its business on its core protein operations.
TNT Crust is a manufacturer and distributor of partially baked, self-rising, flatbreads and other pizza crusts that are sold to the foodservice and retail channels. TNT annually produces more than 200 million crusts in both par-baked and self-rising varieties. Customers include national and regional restaurants, frozen pizza manufacturers, and foodservice distributors.
TNT, founded in 1981, operates two BRC-certified bakeries in Green Bay with more than 100,000 square feet of production space and 400 employees. The company is headquartered in Green Bay (www.tntcrust.com).
“TNT represents an exciting opportunity to invest in an industry leader within the large and growing pizza category,” said Robert Pistilli, a Managing Director of Peak Rock. “We look forward to completing a seamless transition of the business from Tyson to a standalone entity in the near-term and working with the management team to drive significant growth and support TNT’s customers with continued product innovation.”
The buy of TNT is the seventh food and beverage investment that Peak Rock has made. Peak Rock’s current investments in the food space include Sweet Harvest Foods, a producer and distributor of honey; Berner Food & Beverage, a manufacturer of dairy-based shelf-stable snacks and beverages; Diamond Crystal Brands, a manufacturer and distributor of portion control and single-serve food and beverage products; and Gold Coast Bakeries, a manufacturer of specialty and organic breads, buns, and rolls.
Peak Rock makes debt and equity investments of $20 million to $150 million in middle market companies with revenues from $50 million to $1 billion and enterprise values from $25 million to $500 million. Sectors of interest include business and commercial services; consumer; distribution and logistics; energy and related services; healthcare; industrials; manufacturing, metals, and media. The firm is based in Austin (www.peakrockcapital.com).
“This transaction is another example of Peak Rock’s deep experience in executing complex carveout transactions,” said Anthony DiSimone, Chief Executive Officer of Peak Rock. “It also highlights our continued interest in attractive investments in the food and beverage industry. We believe that TNT represents an excellent platform for growth and we will actively pursue both organic initiatives as well as accretive add-on acquisitions.”
“TNT Crust is a solid business supported by a great team, however, our strategy is focused on expanding Tyson Foods’ leadership position in protein,” said Sally Grimes, Group President, Prepared Foods. “We’re pleased Peak Rock plans to continue operating the business and provide continued opportunities for the workforce.”
Another recent private equity and Tyson transaction was the June 2018 acquisition by Kohlberg & Company of the Sara Lee Frozen Bakery and Van’s businesses of Tyson. This transaction included the Chef Pierre, Bistro Collection and Van’s brands, and a license to use the Sara Lee brand in certain channels. Hard assets acquired include Tyson’s Tarboro, NC and Traverse City, MI prepared foods facilities and a sales office in Canada. These three facilities had a total of 1,160 employees.
Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) is one of the world’s largest food companies with market share leading brands in chicken, beef and pork as well as prepared foods, including bacon, breakfast sausage, turkey, lunchmeat, hot dogs, pizza crusts and toppings, tortillas and desserts. Tyson is based in Springdale, AR (www.tysonfoods.com).
Goldman, Sachs & Co. is the financial adviser to Tyson on the sale of TNT Crust and the transaction is expected to close by the end of September 2018.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | August 13, 2018
