Company Overview
The Company was a regional branded cookie and biscuit business selling to major retailers through a direct-to-store delivery function.
The Company had been owned and managed by a large corporation, until a Fort Dearborn led group purchased the assets.
Engagement Overview
Fort Dearborn led many of the strategic decisions and business restructuring initiatives including:
–Raising the investment capital and debt financing to fund the acquisition;
–Returning the Company to profitability, during its first year after acquisition, by eliminating a prior year operating loss of over $8 million and reducing its debt and working capital investment;.
–Leading initiatives to redesign packaging and enhance marketing efforts to reenergize tired products; and
–Reorganizing the delivery function to reduce operating expenses through improved logistics and enhanced transportation efficiency;
The Company’s overall plan was to grow through acquisition of select regional cookie and biscuit companies. Fort Dearborn initiated contact with a comparable regional competitor to explore their desire to sell. After evaluating the benefits of a potential acquisition of other competitors, it was determined that the best course was to sell the Company, rather than pursue acquisitions.
Fort Dearborn acted as exclusive transaction advisor in the successful sale of the Company
Results
Fort Dearborn acted in several capacities including board members, President, performing due diligence, sale advisory and transaction negotiation.
After returning the Company to profitability, Fort Dearborn’s sale process delivered a rate of return in excess of 70% to stockholders, in little more than two years since the acquisition.