Brynwood Partners VIII acquires pancake manufacturer De Wafelbakkers

Brynwood Partners VIII has acquired pancakes manufacturer De Wafelbakkers from The Oklahoma Publishing Company for an undisclosed sum.

Headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas, US, De Wafelbakkers is engaged in the production of frozen pancakes, waffles and French toast in the US.

Its products are sold to grocery as well as mass retailers, and foodservice outlets across the country.

De Wafelbakkers operates a 100,000ft² manufacturing plant in North Little Rock and a 98,000ft² facility in McDonough, Georgia.

It employs approximately 650 people across its two plants and headquarters.

Brynwood Partners chairman and CEO Henk Hartong said: “We are pleased to announce the acquisition of De Wafelbakkers. Brynwood already has a presence in the breakfast category through its dry mix offerings with its Hungry Jack and Arrowhead Mills brands, owned by Brynwood portfolio company Hometown Food Company.

“We also have extensive experience in the frozen manufacturing space and believe that we can partner with the management team to accelerate performance in the De Wafelbakkers business.

“The frozen pancake, waffle and French toast market is a growing space and we are excited to be invested in the category with such a significant manufacturing player.”

The acquisition of De Wafelbakkers adds to Brynwood’s food and beverage portfolio, which includes Harvest Hill Beverage Company, Carolina Beverage Group, Hometown Food Company, Buitoni Food Company and Great Kitchens Food Company.

Brynwood Partners president, CFO and COO Ian MacTaggart said: “On behalf of Brynwood Partners VIII, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to OPUBCO and the Anschutz Corporation for being such great partners to us on this transaction.

“We look forward to working closely with the company’s management team and loyal employees to transition the business to its next phase of growth.”

With this acquisition, Brynwood’s manufacturing platform has increased to 16 facilities, employee’s headcount to nearly 4,100 and annual sales to exceed $2.2bn.

For this deal, Brynwood VIII was represented by Holland & Knight on legal matters while William Blair acted as the exclusive adviser to De Wafelbakkers.