Hometown Food Company Closes the Acquisition of the Pillsbury® Shelf-Stable Baking Business, the Hungry Jack® Brand and Other Assets from The J.M. Smucker Company and Appoints Senior Management
September 4, 2018 — Chicago, IL — Hometown Food Company (“Hometown Foods”), a wholly-owned portfolio company of Brynwood Partners VII L.P. and Brynwood Partners VIII L.P., is pleased to announce that it has closed the transaction to acquire a portfolio of brands from The J.M. Smucker Company for approximately $375 million. Hometown Foods will be headquartered in Chicago, IL and will operate its 650,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Toledo, OH.
The portfolio of acquired brands includes the exclusive U.S. rights to the Pillsbury® branded shelf-stable baking and dessert products and use of the iconic Pillsbury Doughboy in these categories. Also included in the company’s portfolio is the Funfetti®, Hungry Jack®, White Lily®, Jim Dandy® and Martha White® brands.
Hometown Foods is also pleased to announce that it has hired Daniel Butler as its President and CEO. Most recently, Mr. Butler was President and CEO of Wilton Brands, LLC. Prior to that, Mr. Butler worked at Kraft Foods Inc. for 17 years where he held senior level sales, marketing and general management positions. In addition to Mr. Butler, the company has hired Tim Young, David Meltzer and Dan Anglemyer who are joining Hometown Foods as its CFO, EVP of Sales and Chief Marketing Officer, respectively. Most recently, Mr. Young was with Treehouse Foods, Inc., Mr. Meltzer was with Richelieu Foods, Inc. and Mr. Anglemyer was with Back to Nature Foods Company, LLC.
The company, which ultimately expects to employ approximately 50 people in its Chicago, IL based headquarters, has also come to agreement with several other talented senior level executives and continues to seek to aggressively build out its team.
“We are pleased to announce the closing of the Hometown Foods transaction and the hiring of an exceptional and experienced executive management team,” said Henk Hartong III, Chairman and CEO of Brynwood Partners. “We are excited to have a very talented management team in place at the closing and will be off to a fast start with the new company. We are looking forward to working closely with Dan and his team to bring focus and energy to this business and to execute on our strategy to grow these great brands in the years to come. Additionally, as we have done so successfully in past portfolio company investments, we will aggressively seek to identify and make add-on acquisitions where they fit our strategy.”
About Hometown Food Company:
Hometown Food Company, based in Chicago, IL, was formed by Brynwood Partners in June 2018 to acquire a portfolio of brands from The J.M. Smucker Company. The portfolio includes the exclusive U.S. rights to the iconic Pillsbury® brand’s shelf-stable baking products, including Funfetti®, along with the Hungry Jack®, White Lily®, Jim Dandy® and Martha White® brands. Pillsbury®, Funfetti® and Hungry Jack® are leading national brands in the shelf-stable baking and breakfast categories and White Lily®, Jim Dandy® and Martha White® are regional brands known for flour, corn meal and grits. Hometown Foods manufactures the majority of its products from its 650,000 square foot facility in Toledo, OH where the company employs 255 full-time employees. For more information on Hometown Foods, please visit www.hometownfoodcompany.com.
About Brynwood Partners:
Brynwood Partners, founded in 1984 and based in Greenwich, CT, is an operationally-focused private equity firm that makes control investments in North American-based lower middle market companies. The firm targets non-core brands or companies operating exclusively in the consumer sector. Since inception, Brynwood Partners has acquired 52 brands from 19 different corporate sellers.
Brynwood Partners currently manages more than $1 billion of private equity capital for its limited partners, which include U.S. and international pension funds, fund-of-funds, endowments, foundations, high net worth family investment offices and financial institutions. Brynwood Partners’ most recent fund, Brynwood Partners VIII L.P., has $649 million of committed capital and made its final close in January 2018. For more information on Brynwood Partners, please visit www.brynwoodpartners.com.