The Bakery Companies (“The Bakery Cos.”), a manufacturer of fresh and frozen breads, baked goods and dough products announced today the acquisition of a Smyrna, Georgia facility (“Smyrna”) from Specialty Bakers LLC. The Smyrna facility is located less than 20 miles from The Bakery Cos.’ existing operations in Norcross, Georgia, and produces and distributes laminated dough items including croissant and Danish, as well as sweet baked goods for in-store bakeries at leading grocery retailers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Commenting on the transaction, President of The Bakery Cos. Yianny Caparos said, “We are tremendously excited by this acquisition as broadening of our production capabilities is critical to best serving our customers nationwide. While we began construction last month in Nashville for our new ultra-high-speed croissant line, the addition of Smyrna to our manufacturing network dramatically turbo-charges our re-entry into the croissant and Danish categories, enabling us to deliver these products as early as this summer. ”
Caparos further noted, “The capabilities across frozen dough, pre-proofed and fully baked items meet the varied needs of our customers. We have already experienced tremendous interest for these products across every channel, and we can’t wait to join forces with the outstanding team at Smyrna to address the pent-up demand.”
Cordia Harrington, Chief Executive Officer of The Bakery Cos. commented, “We are thrilled to be welcoming the team of associates in Smyrna to our Bakery Companies family. Their product and customer portfolio complements our existing business and will enable us to offer a broader range of unique, high-quality baked goods across both sweet and savory categories. Bringing differentiated products that meet both the changing tastes of consumers and the evolving needs of our customers is critical, and Smyrna addresses both.”
In September 2019, The Bakery Companies was recapitalized by Arbor Investments, a specialized private equity firm that focuses exclusively on acquiring premier companies in food, beverage and related industries.
“Smyrna adds a sixth facility to our platform, brings exciting new manufacturing capabilities and is a highly attractive fit in terms of geographic location and proximity” said Chris Tuffin, Arbor Partner. “Our second acquisition for The Bakery Cos. in just two months, we are exceptionally pleased to further grow and will continue to seek opportunities to add complementary businesses to our expanding group of passionate bakers.”
Winston & Strawn served as Arbor’s legal counsel in connection with the transaction.