pork products

Encore Goes Hog Wild

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Encore Consumer Capital has made an investment in Tender Belly, a provider of pork products.

Tender Belly’s products include bacon, ribs, hams, tenderloins, chops, pulled pork and whole pigs. The company’s products are available online, at restaurants, and through specialty food retailers in Colorado, Texas, Illinois and California. The company has made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies for three years in a row. Tender Belly was founded in 2010 by brothers Shannon and Erik Duffy and is headquartered in Denver (www.tenderbelly.com).

“We started Tender Belly to do things the right way, not the easy way, and we’re excited to partner with Encore to continue along that path,” said Shannon Duffy, Tender Belly Founder and CEO. “With Encore’s support, resources, and industry expertise, we’ll be able to continue to grow Tender Belly into the leading brand of bacon and pork, while making sure everyone has access to our products.”

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Shannon and Erik to grow Tender Belly,” said Robert Brown, a Managing Director at Encore Consumer Capital. “We have great confidence that the entire team will grow Tender Belly to become the leading premium bacon offering in grocery stores and restaurants across the country.”

Encore Consumer Capital invests exclusively in consumer products companies that have revenues between $10 million and $100 million and where it can utilize its own consumer experience and the expertise of its operating partners at Encore Associates, a strategic advisory firm to the consumer products industry. The firm has raised nearly $600 million in equity capital and invested in more than 25 platform companies.  Encore was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in San Francisco (www.encoreconsumercapital.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | May 31, 2018

LNK Partners to Sell Niman Ranch to Perdue Farms

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LNK Partners has entered into an agreement to sell Niman Ranch and its parent company Natural Food Holdings (NFH), to Perdue Farms. LNK acquired NFH in June 2011.

Natural Food Holdings is a manufacturer and marketer of all-natural fresh and prepared protein products, primarily pork.  The company’s Niman Ranch brand is an all-natural brand of pork, beef, and lamb that is antibiotic free, hormone free, and raised humanely and sustainably through a network of US family farms. The company is headquartered in Alameda, CA (www.nimanranch.com).

During LNK’s ownership, the firm grew the Niman Ranch brand by expanding into new geographic markets, new distribution channels, and through new product development.  “It has been a privilege for LNK to partner with the NFH team in building Niman Ranch into one of the defining brands in the farm-to-fork movement,” said David Landau, a Partner of LNK.  “This sale represents an excellent result for our investors as well as a terrific outcome for the NFH team and the Niman Ranch brand, which have found a great long-term home at Perdue.”

LNK Partners invests up to $150 million of equity per transaction in consumer and retail businesses. The firm is flexible in the type and structure of its investments and is comfortable being a minority or majority shareholder. The firm is based in White Plains, NY (www.lnkpartners.com).

“The LNK team has been an extraordinary partner in building the Niman Ranch business, supporting all of the investments we have made in the brand and the infrastructure required to support it, and never pushing us to sacrifice any of our core tenets for the sake of short-term growth or profitability,” said Jeff Swain, CEO of NFH.  “They have been tremendous stewards of the Niman Ranch brand and we are excited to see the baton pass on to Perdue.”

Perdue Farms is a major chicken-processing company based in Salisbury, MD with annual sales in excess of $6 billion (www.perduefarms.com).

Natural Food Holdings was advised by Houlihan Lokey and Kirkland & Ellis.  Perdue Farms was advised by Moelis & Co. and Venable LLP.

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-11-15