2014 Another Busy Year For E&S Deals

It was an active year again in 2014 as business life-cycle factors and a healthy E&S market kept the pace of merger and acquisition activity relatively high. As has been typical lately, The Middleby Corp. was particularly active. Dealer activity was somewhat restrained after a very busy 2013. And there continued to be a number of significant mergers and sales among manufacturers’ rep groups, including two well-known firms picked up by Acosta Sales & Marketing, a food marketing firm expanding into the non-food arena.

Following are transactions noted last year in FER Fortnightly and FER Dealer Report.

Manufacturers

—The Middleby Corp. bought Market Forge, Concordia Coffee, U-Line Corp., Desmon Food Service Equipment (Italy) and Goldstein Eswood (Australia).

—Argosy Group Int’l. bought Donper America.

—Duke Mfg. bought CounterCraft.

—Standex Food Service Group bought Ultrafryer Systems and sold American Foodservice to All-American Holdings.

—PolyScience Culinary sold distribution rights to Breville Group.

—Advance Tabco bought Supreme Metal.

—Compass Diversified Holdings bought Candle Lamp (SternoCandleLamp).

—Focus Foodservice parent Centre Lane Partners bought Update Int’l. and Johnson-Rose.

—Taylor Precision Products bought Chef’n Corp.

—Henny Penny was sold to a newly formed employee stock ownership plan.

Dealers

—Hockenbergs bought Grand Restaurant Equipment & Design.

—Bargreen Ellingson bought Knapp Supply & Equipment.

—Warburg Pincus bought TriMark USA from Audax.

—The Boelter Cos. bought Robert Gill & Co.

—Sysco Corp. continued to work on its proposed merger with US Foods. But reports last week suggested the Federal Trade Commission may oppose the combination.

Others

—Summit Partners bought Parts Town.

—Heritage Food Service Group bought Key Food Equipment Services.

—Diversified Foodservice Supply bought Mill Hardware & Food Service and Restaurant Parts & More.

—Acosta Sales & Marketing bought manufacturers’ rep firms The HGA Group and Howard & Associates.

—RepsSouth merged with The Hansen Group.

—The Preferred Marketing Group bought the E&S division of Marketsmart Inc. from The Core Group.

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