Brynwood Partners agrees to purchase assets from J.M. Smucker

The definitive agreement is valued at $375 million, and includes Pillsbury, Hungry Jack and other brands

Brynwood Partners VII L.P. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a portfolio of brands from The J.M. Smucker Company (Smucker) for $375 million. The portfolio includes the exclusive US rights to Pillsbury brand’s shelf-stable baking products along with the Hungry Jack, White Lily, Jim Dandy and Martha White brands.

The Pillsbury brand license agreement is a royalty-free, perpetual agreement with General Mills, Inc. and encompasses all US shelf-stable baking products, including flour, dry baking mixes and ready-to-spread frosting, in the retail channel. The transaction includes a 650,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in Toledo, OH and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, subject to US regulatory review.

Brynwood Partners created Hometown Food Company to acquire the assets from Smucker. Hometown Food Company will be headquartered in Chicago and operate the Toledo facility. Pillsbury and Hungry Jack are leading national brands in the shelf-stable baking and breakfast categories. The Funfetti sub-brand is also included in the acquisition as are the strong regional brands White Lily, Jim Dandy and Martha White, which participate in the flour, corn meal and grits categories. Many of the acquired products are manufactured at the Toledo facility

“We are extremely pleased to announce the formation of the Hometown Food Company, which marks the single largest acquisition in Brynwood Partners’ 34-year history,” says Hendrik Hartong III, chairman and CEO of Brynwood Partners. “We are excited to add the famous Pillsbury and Hungry Jack brands along with the White Lily, Jim Dandy and Martha White brands and their great tasting products to our investment portfolio. The iconic portfolio of brands and the company’s strong Mid-Western manufacturing footprint will provide us with a solid platform to invest in and to grow.”

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.

Wayne Labs has more than 30 years of editorial experience in industrial automation. He served as senior technical editor for I&CS/Control Solutions magazine for 18 years where he covered software, control system hardware and sensors/transmitters. Labs ran his own consulting business and contributed feature articles to Electronic Design, Control, Control Design, Industrial Networking and Food Engineering magazines. Before joining Food Engineering, he served as a senior technical editor for Omega Engineering Inc. Labs also worked in wireless systems and served as a field engineer for GE’s Mobile Communications Division and as a systems engineer for Bucks County Emergency Services. In addition to writing technical feature articles, Wayne covers FE’s Engineering R&D section.