Growth equity investment to fund further national expansion, improve operations and data analytics, and accelerate marketing initiatives with corporate partners
D.A. Davidson & Co. announced that it has served as exclusive financial advisor to Chef’d, Inc., a best in class e-commerce meal marketplace, in its second closing of the Series B capital raise with Smithfield Foods. The transaction makes Smithfield Foods the largest strategic investor in Chef’d, an El Segundo, California-based company, and also provides Smithfield a seat on the company’s board of directors.
Chef’d offers customers across the U.S. the opportunity to choose and reorder meals at any given time without the hassle and cost of subscriptions or membership fees. To date, the company has aligned with over 125 different groups, including notable chefs, culinary personalities, media outlets, technology companies, and a host of trusted brands in food, fitness and health & wellness to offer over 1,000 meal solutions spanning all meal occasions.
“Smithfield is a well-recognized leader in the food industry and shares our vision of meal kits and e-commerce playing an increasingly important role in consumers’ food choices,” said Kyle Ransford, CEO of Chef’d. “Leveraging the collective knowledge and capabilities of both companies, our partnership will open up opportunities for innovation and access to first-in-class national manufacturing and distribution facilities as we scale our business rapidly.”
“This transaction brings together two exceptional companies with a shared commitment to innovation. It also represents yet another example of how the food and beverage landscape is rapidly shifting both in product and delivery,” said Jeff Cleveland, Managing Director and Head of Food, Beverage and Agriculture Investment Banking at D.A. Davidson. “We are privileged to have served as the company’s advisor.”
We appreciate the extensive time and effort devoted by the D.A. Davidson team; they have been wonderful partners to us as we raised the capital necessary to execute on our vision. We look forward to deepening our relationship with Jeff and his team.
-Kyle Ransford, CEO of Chef’d
The transaction represents another successful closing for D.A. Davidson’s investment banking group. Since the start of 2015, members of D.A. Davidson’s Consumer & Retail investment banking team have advised on 34 completed transactions.
D.A. Davidson & Co.’s investment banking division is a leading full-service investment bank that offers comprehensive financial advisory and capital markets expertise and has extensive transaction experience serving middle market clients worldwide.
About D.A. Davidson Companies
D.A. Davidson Companies is an employee-owned financial services firm offering a range of financial services and advice to individuals, corporations, institutions and municipalities nationwide. Founded in 1935 and headquartered in Montana, with corporate offices in Denver, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle, the company has more than 1,300 employees and offices in 24 states.
Subsidiaries include: D.A. Davidson & Co., the largest full-service investment firm headquartered in the Northwest, providing wealth management, investment banking, equity and fixed income capital markets services and advice; Davidson Investment Advisors, a professional asset management firm; D.A. Davidson Trust Company, a trust and wealth management company; and Davidson Fixed Income Management, a registered investment adviser providing fixed income portfolio and advisory services.
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