Food & Beverage Acquisitions in 2017

Mass Bay Brewing Company, the employee-owned parent of Harpoon Brewery, has acquired Clown Shoes Brewing, a craft beer brand founded in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The deal brings Clown Shoes into Mass Bay's employee ownership framework and aims to expand the Clown Shoes brand regionally and nationally.

Corbel Capital Partners provided additional preferred equity to its portfolio company, Brooklyn Brands LLC, to support growth. The financing will fund leasing, equipping and operating an additional manufacturing facility to expand capacity for brands including Lilly's Homestyle Bakery and Schick's Gourmet Bakery.

Farmer Brothers Co. has entered into an agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of Boyd Coffee Company in a transaction valued at an estimated $58.6 million (cash and preferred stock). The acquisition expands Farmer Brothers' distribution footprint across multiple customer channels and geographies, is expected to be accretive to earnings after integration, and should deliver $13–$16 million in annual incremental adjusted EBITDA once fully integrated.

Sabormex S.A. de C.V., an operating company of the La Costeña Group, has acquired Del Sol Food Company, Inc., the maker and owner of the BRIANNAS Fine Salad Dressings brand. GulfStar Group acted as exclusive financial advisor to Sabormex. The acquisition supports La Costeña's U.S. expansion and intends to grow the BRIANNAS brand through geographic expansion and product line extensions.

Constellation Brands, Inc. acquired Florida craft brewer Funky Buddha Brewery in a transaction that closed on August 9, 2017. Funky Buddha, founded in Boca Raton and operating a large production brewery and taproom in Oakland Park, Florida, was advised by Farlie Turner Gilbert while the founders transitioned ownership to Constellation to expand the brewer's reach through Constellation's distribution and brand platform.

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.

Sapporo Holdings Limited will acquire all equity interest in Anchor Brewing Company from parent Anchor Brewers & Distillers, LLC for $85 million, in a deal expected to close on August 31, 2017. Sapporo said the acquisition supports its "SPEED 150" plan to expand its North American beer business and will keep brewing operations in San Francisco while leveraging Sapporo's global distribution to grow Anchor internationally.

Lantic Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Sugar Inc., agreed to acquire L.B. Maple Treat from Champlain Financial Corporation for CAD 160.3 million. The acquisition brings a leading maple syrup bottler and distributor headquartered in Granby, Quebec (about 160 employees) into Rogers/Lantic’s portfolio to diversify and expand into the maple syrup market.

Castanea Partners completed a recapitalization of The Bruery LLC, a craft brewery based in Orange County, California, with terms not disclosed. Founder and CEO Patrick Rue will remain in his role and, along with his father Michael Rue, will remain significant shareholders; Farlie Turner Gilbert & Co. served as The Bruery's exclusive financial advisor.

Insignia Capital Group, a San Francisco Bay Area private equity firm, has acquired Tillamook Country Smoker, a third-generation, family-owned maker of hardwood-smoked jerky and meat snacks based in Bay City, Oregon. Several family shareholders participated in the transaction; Insignia said the acquisition expands its food portfolio and will leverage synergies with its other salty snack investments to accelerate growth and invest in operations.

Tricor Pacific Founders Capital, a Canada-based family investment firm, acquired Totally Chocolate LLC, a Blaine, Washington-based manufacturer of personalized chocolate gifts founded in 1988. The deal represents a platform investment for the family office as it expands its food and consumer packaged goods holdings.

Chicago-based investment firm Kenex Holdings has acquired Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream & Desserts, the Aiea, Hawaii–based maker of premium mochi ice cream. Founder Keith Robbins will remain a significant investor while Kenex appoints Rick Schaffer as CEO to lead the next phase of growth and a leadership transition.

Merck (Merck KGaA) has acquired BioControl Systems Inc., a Bellevue, Washington-based leader in rapid food safety testing, to strengthen its applied solutions in food pathogen detection. The deal expands Merck's food and beverage offering by adding BioControl's rapid detection assays, validated kits and testing platforms to Merck's instruments and consumables portfolio; financial terms were not disclosed.