Arbor Investments ("Arbor") announced today it has completed the acquisition of the Exclusive Brands business from Mars Petcare US, Inc. ("Mars Petcare"). The business manufactures private label pet food and treat products for various national retail customers. The acquisition includes five manufacturing facilities in Orangeburg, SC, Washington Court House, OH, Miami, OK, Clinton, OK and San Bernardino, CA. Financial terms were not disclosed.
With the close of the transaction, Exclusive Brands has re-launched as Red Collar Pet Foods ("Red Collar"). Headquartered in Franklin, TN, Red Collar will operate under the leadership of CEO and President Chris Hamilton, with COO Dan Baker, CFO and CIO Marc Simkin and SVP of Sales and Product Development Brad Ball rounding out the executive team. Arbor Senior Operating Partner Tim Fallon will serve as Chairman of Red Collar.
Commenting on the completed transaction, Arbor Partner Chris Harned stated, "We've spent the last three months working closely with Mars and our new leadership team to efficiently separate the business so we could hit the ground running from day one of ownership. The opportunities ahead are exciting and further reinforce Arbor's enthusiasm to enter the dynamic and growing pet food industry."
Mr. Hamilton added, "With the support of Arbor, our management team and over 400 former Mars associates are ecstatic to be in the market as Red Collar Pet Foods. We're committed to offering flawless service to our existing customers and look forward to building new relationships as we expand our customer base."
This transaction marks Arbor's second acquisition via a corporate asset divestiture. "From our initial conversations, Mars Petcare has been a phenomenal partner to work with and I couldn't be prouder of how our nimble team at Arbor executed throughout the complicated transaction," said Arbor CEO Gregory Purcell. "In less than 100 days from signing, we successfully carved-out a top 15 U.S. pet food manufacturing company from a global food conglomerate."
Kirkland & Ellis served as Arbor's legal counsel in connection with the transaction.
About Red Collar Pet Foods
We are pet people. And to us, pets are family. That's why we believe they all deserve great food. Wholesome, balanced nutrition grounded in the best food science in every bag and bowl. Why is our food so good? It's made right here in the U.S. from quality ingredients in factories that meet the highest pet food safety standards. We think you'll be proud to put your brand on the food we make. Our enduring commitment to pets and their people means Red Collar is a partner you can trust. We nourish some of the best four-legged friends around. We hope some of them are yours.