NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Goldman Sachs and Vestar Capital Partners announced today that they have completed their acquisition of Hearthside Food Solutions, the largest independent bakery and contract food manufacturer in North America. The transaction was previously announced on March 19, 2014; terms were not disclosed. Goldman Sachs and Vestar will own equal stakes in the company going forward.
Affiliates of Barclays Capital and Goldman Sachs provided commitments for the debt financing for the transaction. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP acted as the legal advisor to Goldman Sachs and Vestar in this transaction.
About Hearthside Food Solutions
Hearthside Food Solutions, headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, is the nation’s largest independent bakery and a full-service contract manufacturer of high quality, grain-based food and snack products for many of the world’s leading premier brands. Hearthside offers a diverse product portfolio focused on four main platform categories – bars, cookies/crackers, granola/cereals, and snacks. Hearthside operates 20 food-manufacturing facilities in eight states. For more information on Hearthside Food Solutions, visit www.hearthsidefoods.com.
About Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.
About Vestar Capital Partners
Vestar Capital Partners is a leading U.S. middle-market private equity firm specializing in management buyouts and growth capital investments. Vestar invests and collaborates with incumbent management teams and private owners in a creative, flexible and entrepreneurial way to build long-term enterprise value.
Vestar has a successful track record in the food industry, with past investments in companies including Celestial Seasonings, Michael Foods and Birds Eye. Currently, Vestar’s portfolio includes Del Monte – now Big Heart Pet Brands, the largest pet snack company in U.S. – and specialty foods leader Roland Foods.
Vestar is targeting equity investments in the range of $50 million to $150 million in U.S.-based middle-market companies with enterprise values ranging from $200 million to $1 billion. Vestar has extensive experience investing across a wide variety of industries including Consumer, Healthcare, Digital Media, Information Services, Diversified Industries, and Financial Services. Since Vestar’s founding in 1988, Vestar funds have completed more than 70 investments in companies with a total value of more than $40 billion. For more information, please visit http://www.vestarcapital.com.