Castanea Partners Recapitalizes The Bruery

Consortium Including Charlesbank, Oaktree and Blue Ribbon Partners Recapitalizes City Brewing Company

March 16, 2021

Food & Beverage

A consortium led by Charlesbank Capital Partners with participation from Oaktree Capital Management, Blue Ribbon Partners and City Brewing management agreed to an equity investment to acquire 100% of City Brewing Company; the transaction was expected to close in April 2021. The recapitalization will fund a $630 million investment program to expand capacity, launch a West Coast facility (the Irwindale Brew Yard acquired from Pabst Brewing Company), and support leadership transitions and growth initiatives.

Encore Consumer Capital Acquires Lion Beverages, LLC (The Lion Brewery)

January 7, 2020

Food & Beverage

Encore Consumer Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm focused on consumer products, has completed the acquisition of Lion Beverages, LLC (doing business as The Lion Brewery), a contract manufacturer of specialty beverages based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Lion provides brewing, blending, canning, bottling and packaging services to national and regional beverage brands; the transaction follows Blue Point Capital Partners' exit of its U.S. Drinks / Lion Brewery holding.

TowerBrook Capital Partners to Acquire Majority Stake in Bruneau from Equistone

July 28, 2021

E-Commerce

TowerBrook Capital Partners has signed a binding agreement to acquire a majority stake in Bruneau from Equistone Partners Europe, subject to regulatory approval and employee consultations. Bruneau is a leading European online distributor of office furniture and supplies (active in six countries with ~930 employees), and TowerBrook intends to support the group's organic growth, product offering expansion and digital customer acquisition.

Charger Investment Partners Makes Growth Investment in Beans & Brews Coffeehouse

January 20, 2021

Restaurants & Hospitality

Charger Investment Partners completed a growth investment in B&B Coffeehouse (dba Beans & Brews) on December 31, 2020, partnering with founders Jeff and Kevin Laramie. The capital will support the Salt Lake City–founded coffeehouse and franchisor, which operates company-owned and franchise locations and wholesales roasted coffee across the Western United States.

RFE Investment Partners and Knox Capital Recapitalize BryteBridge Group

December 13, 2023

Legal Services

RFE Investment Partners and Knox Capital completed a recapitalization of BryteBridge Group, an outsourced compliance, legal and filing services provider for nonprofit organizations. The transaction brings new executive leadership (Mike Bryant as CEO, Larry Marshall as CFO), keeps Brian Davis as President, and positions BryteBridge to expand into a technology-enabled full-service legal and compliance platform and pursue buy-and-build opportunities into the for-profit SMB market.

Brynwood Partners VII L.P. Acquires Cold Spring Brewing Company

August 4, 2017

Food & Beverage

Brynwood Partners VII L.P. has acquired Cold Spring Brewing Company, Inc. from the Lenore family. The private equity firm said Cold Spring will operate as a standalone company but will benefit from the scale and national distribution and manufacturing footprint of Brynwood’s Harvest Hill Beverage Company investment to support growth and private-label/co-manufacturing opportunities.