Benford Capital Partners (“Benford Capital” or “BCP”), a leading lower middle market private equity firm, is pleased to announce the successful sale of Saco Foods (“Saco” or the “Company”) to Fengate Private Equity and Weathervane Investment Corp. Saco is a branded market-leading food products company selling primarily to supermarkets and mass retailers in the U.S. The transaction closed on January 8, 2024.

Over BCP’s investment period, and in partnership with CEO Tom Walzer, the Company grew over sevenfold. Growth was attributable to both organic initiatives (e.g., new product development, new customer acquisition, and the material expansion of the Company’s eCommerce sales), and three successful add-on acquisitions, which BCP helped source, execute, and integrate. The add-ons included California Sun Dry (October 2018), Hoosier Hill Farm (March 2021), and Solo Foods (October 2023).

 Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Middleton, WI, Saco Foods is a growing shelf-stable food products platform with a portfolio of niche market-leading brands. Saco’s family of brands include: Dolci Frutta, the #1 brand in confectionary chocolate dips and coatings; California Sun Dry, the #1 brand in sun-dried tomato food products; Saco Pantry, a leader in powdered instant dry milk, buttermilk, baking cocoa and other complementary baking ingredients; Solo Foods, the #1 brand in pastry fillings, nut pastes, and marzipan; and Hoosier Hill Farm, a digitally native direct-to-consumer provider of branded baking ingredients and snack products.

CEO Tom Walzer, who will continue to lead the Company, said, “Benford Capital was a terrific partner over the last seven years.  We were seeking a firm who could bring not only capital, but also significant practical experience scaling smaller businesses in partnership with management.  With Benford’s strategic guidance and highly engaged approach, we were able to build our senior leadership team, add new customers and channels of distribution, expand our facility footprint, and seamlessly integrate three add-on acquisitions.”

Ben Riefe, Managing Director at Benford Capital, added, “It was a pleasure working with Tom and his terrific team of owner-operators at Saco throughout our hold period. We are grateful for the trust Tom and Ray Sanna, one of Saco’s founders, placed in us. We’re proud of what this team was able to accomplish, and confident the business is well-positioned for continued growth and success in its new partnership with Fengate and Weathervane.”

TM Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor to Saco Foods; Ice Miller served as legal counsel. Learn more about Saco Foods at www.sacofoods.com.

ABOUT BENFORD CAPITAL PARTNERS

Founded in 2004, Benford Capital is a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on buying and building leading lower middle market companies in partnership with founders and management. Since inception, Benford Capital has acquired 50 companies and currently owns 16 platform companies. BCP’s industry areas of focus include industrial technology, consumer products and food, B2B e-commerce, and agricultural products and services. BCP is currently investing from its $200 million Fund II and has approximately $350 million of total capital under management. For more information, please visit: www.benfordcapital.com.

For additional information about this transaction, please contact Ben Riefe (ben@benfordcapital.com) or Thomas Schofield (thomas@benfordcapital.com).