William Blair acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Cornfields Inc. in connection with its sale to Eagle Family Foods Group, a portfolio company of Kelso & Company. The sale of Cornfields builds upon William Blair’s expertise in advising high-growth food businesses and represents a substantial follow-on transaction after William Blair sold Eagle to Kelso in December 2015 as a carve-out divestiture from the J.M. Smucker Company.
Transaction Highlights
- Deep relationships and sector expertise:Cornfields was attracted to William Blair’s extensive knowledge and experience in the Better-For-You (BFY) snack foods sector, recent transaction experience, and strong relationships with likely strategic and financial acquirers worldwide.
- Trusted guidance: William Blair’s deal team was integrally involved in each step of the transaction process and guided the family ownership throughout the process to a successful transaction outcome.
- Highly strategic acquisition: The acquisition of Cornfields expands and diversifies Eagle’s platform into the snack food category and provides synergy opportunities with its existing branded and private label businesses.
About the Companies
Cornfields is a leading provider of BFY snacks to the club, grocery, and mass retail channels. Cornfields manufactures and distributes a broad range of BFY products including Ready-to-Eat popcorn, pellet and extruded (“puffs”) snacks, and confectionary creations. The company is a proven innovator in the BFY category with two category-leading brands, G.H. Cretors and Hi I’m Skinny. In addition, Cornfields also manufactures a broad array of exceptional BFY snacks for its private-label customers.
Eagle Family Foods Group LLC is a leading producer and marketer of canned sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk products. It offers canned milk products through numerous brands which include Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk. It also offers products under brands such as PET, Magnolia, Meadow Gold, and Milnot. Eagle markets and distributes products through the U.S. retail channels, which include grocery stores, club stores, and mass-merchandisers, as well as the foodservice and export channels. It is the largest manufacturer of private-label canned milk in the United States.
Kelso & Company is a financial sponsor that has been investing in North American private equity for over 30 years. Based in New York, Kelso has raised a total of eight private equity funds, representing $9.8 billion of capital, and has made over 110 investments.
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