- Brynwood Partners
-
Brynwood Partners 
Industry Private equity Founded 1984 Headquarters Greenwich, Connecticut, United States Key people Hendrik (Henk) J. Hartong, Jr. Products Leveraged buyout, Growth capital Total assets $250 million Website Brynwood Partners Brynwood Partners is a private equity investment firm focused on leveraged buyout and other control investments.
Since its founding in 1984, the firm—headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut[1]—has raised five investment funds, most recently raising a $250 million fund in 2005. Through these funds, the company owns firms and brands including DeMet's Candy Co. (Stixx, Pretzel Flipz), Balance Bar[2] and Richelieu Foods (Turtles, etc.).[1]
Contents
The firm
The company's managing partners include Hendrik (Henk) J. Hartong, Jr. (Co-founder),[3] who had managed Air Express International in the mid-1980s until its $1.15 billion acquisition by Deutsche Post in 1999. Other managing partners include Hendrik J. Hartong III, Ian B MacTaggart, Dario U. Margve, Kevin C. Hartnett, Joan Y. Mccabe and Nicholas DiCarlo (CFO).
Investments
In 1988, Brynwood Partners purchased Richelieu Foods,[4] a leading supplier of private-label food products and frozen pizzas.[1] The company produces over 50 million frozen pizzas[5] and more than 20 million finished crusts[6] annually, reporting more than $200 million in yearly sales,[5] and producing private label products for companies including Aldi, Save-A-Lot,[4] Shaw's Supermarkets,[5] Hannaford Brothers Co.,[5] BJ's Wholesale Club and Sam's Club.
In 2003, Brynwood bought Pretzel Flipz, a line of yogurt-covered pretzels made in Mohnton, Pa., from Nestle.
In 2004, Brynwood acquired New York-based freight forwarder IJS Global Inc..[7]
In 2004, Brynwood Partners sold Lincoln Snacks Company,[8] which made Fiddle Faddle, Screaming Yellow Zonkers and Poppycock.[2]
DeMet's Candy Company
In 2007, Brynwood bought the "Turtles" brand from Nestle USA Inc.,[2] acquiring at the same time the 280,000-square-foot (26,000 m2) Turtles production facility in Toronto, Canada — merging the acquisition with a company it owned at the time, Signature Snacks Company.
Subsequently that year Brynwood consolidated its portfolio of confectionary acquisitions, which included Stixx, FLIPZ chocolate covered pretzels, Treasures and Turtles, resurrecting the dormant DeMet's Candy Company name. DeMet's began started in 1898 as a candy store business and soda fountain shop by George DeMet of Chicago — subsequently creating Turtles candies. After a series of mergers and acquisitions DeMet’s was purchased by Nestlé in 1988. In 2007, Signature Snacks, then owned by Brynwood, acquired the DeMet’s brand from Nestlé. Former Nestlé USA executive Hendrik Hartong III is chairman of the company.
Stella D'Oro
In 2006, Brynwood bought Stella D'Oro Biscuit Co. from Kraft Foods.[9] On August 4, 2008, workers of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union went on strike citing proposed pay and benefit cuts and later picketed the company's attempt to bring in replacement workers.[10][11][12][13]
After more than 11 months on strike, the company was required by a court ruling to reinstate the workers. However, shortly thereafter, the company announced in July 2009 that it would close the Kingsbridge, Bronx facility.[14] In September 2009, Brynwood announced the sale of Stella D'Oro to Lance, a large manufacturer of snack foods, which intended to relocate Stella D'Oro's production to a non-union facility in Ashland, Ohio.[15][16]
Brynwood received negative attention for its role in the work stoppage and sale of Stella d'Oro, including a reference in an op-ed piece by the AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka, published in the Wall Street Journal in April 2010.[17]
External links
- Brynwood Partners (company website)
References
- ^ a b c "Richelieu Foods Acquires Sara Lee’s Sauces and Dressings Foodservice Business". Richelieu Foods Press Release, September 2, 2008. http://www.richelieufoods.com/news/richelieu-foods-acquires-sara-lee-sauces-and-dressings-foodservice-business.
- ^ a b c "Private Equity Firm Buys Balance Bar Brand From Kraft Foods". Soyatech.com, Connecticut Post, December 6, 2009. http://www.soyatech.com/news_story.php?id=16520.
- ^ "BUSINESS PEOPLE; Revived Air Express Picks Chief Executive". The New York Times, Daniel Cuff, January 10, 1989. January 10, 1989. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/10/business/business-people-revived-air-express-picks-chief-executive.html?scp=2&sq=%22brynwood%20partners%22&st=cse.
- ^ a b "Richelieu experiences hiring boom, starts expansion". WCFcourier.com, RC Balaban, August 27, 2006. http://wcfcourier.com/business/local/article_eb9bdbf5-8790-5071-9eab-2e82b2085f28.html.
- ^ a b c d "There's new appetite for peddlers of cheap eats". Boston Business Journal, Feb 23, 2009, Lisa van der Pool. February 23, 2009. http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2009/02/23/story1.html.
- ^ "It Takes Two Working in tandem, Richelieu Foods’ pizza plants in Ohio and Wisconsin are a productivity powerhouse.". Refrigeratedfrozenfood.com. http://www.refrigeratedfrozenfood.com/Archives_Davinci?article=2312.
- ^ "AEI Execs Team IJS". Air Cargo Magazine, November 18, 2005, Vol.4 No. 123. http://www.ijsglobal.com/newsroom/in_the_press/11.18.05.shtml.
- ^ "40-30-30: It Isn’t Some Kind Of Debt/Equity Metric". The Wall Street Journal, Beina Xu, Nov 23, 2009. November 23, 2009. http://blogs.wsj.com/privateequity/2009/11/23/40-30-30-it-isnt-some-kind-of-debtequity-metric/.
- ^ Kraft Says Arrivederci to Stella D'Oro. Billboard
- ^ Kosman, Josh (May 10, 2009). "Not the Original Recipe". The New York Post, John Koshman, May 10, 2009. http://www.nypost.com/f/print/news/business/not_the_original_recipe_G8MoW2KiuTLguxeOn6MUKJ.
- ^ "Stella D’oro Factory to Close in October". The New York Times, July 6, 2009, Jennifer Lee. July 6, 2009. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/06/stella-doro-factory-to-close-in-october/.
- ^ "Buyer Said to Emerge for Brynwood’s Stella D’Oro". The New York Times, August 21, 2009. August 21, 2009. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/buyer-said-to-emerge-for-brynwoods-stella-doro/.
- ^ "No Sweets When Striking the Cookie Factory". The New York Times, Marc Santora, December 26, 2008. December 27, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/nyregion/27metjournal.html.
- ^ "Brynwood considers options for Stella D'oro". Greenwich Times, Richard Lee, September 1, 2009. http://www.greenwichtime.com/default/article/Brynwood-considers-options-for-Stella-D-oro-5658.php.
- ^ Stella D'Oro protesters lean on Goldman Sachs. New York Daily News, September 29th 2009
- ^ A Last Batch at a Bakery in the Bronx. New York Times, October 6, 2009
- ^ "OP-ED: It's Time to Restrict Private Equity, Too often employees are the losers in leveraged buyouts". The Wall Street Journal, April 13, 2010, Richard Trumka. April 13, 2010. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304222504575173801155100646.html.
- "Focus On The Consumer: Q&A With Brynwood Partners". The Wall Street Journal, Beina Xu, 6/30/2009. June 30, 2009. http://blogs.wsj.com/privateequity/2009/06/30/focus-on-the-consumer-qa-with-brynwood-partners/.
Private equity and venture capital investment firms Investment strategy 
History History of private equity and venture capital · Early history of private equity · Private equity in the 1980s · Private equity in the 1990s · Private equity in the 2000sInvestors Institutional Investors · Pension funds · Insurance companies · Endowments · Investment Banks · Merchant banks · Fund of funds · High net worth individuals · Angel investors · Family offices · Sovereign wealth fundsPrivate equity firms · Venture capital firms · Portfolio companiesCategories:- Private equity firms
- Companies based in Connecticut
- Companies established in 1984
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
