D.A. Davidson & Co. announced today that it served as exclusive financial advisor to NORPAC Foods, Inc., a leading frozen vegetable and fruit processor, in the divestiture and sale of its soup business to Kettle Cuisine, LLC, a manufacturer of small batch all natural soups, sauces and side dishes serving the up-and-down-the-street foodservice, national restaurant chains and retail channels. Kettle Cuisine is a portfolio investment of Kainos Capital LP, a leading Dallas-based private equity firm with an exclusive focus on the food and consumer sector. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
NORPAC Foods has built a leading soup business over the past 35 years serving the foodservice, retail and international channels. The acquisition of NORPAC’s soup business was announced in conjunction with the announcement that Kettle Cuisine, Bonewerks Culinarte and Savory Creations have been consolidated into one entity within Kainos Capital Fund II. For more than three decades, Kettle Cuisine has stood for artisan-quality clean label soups, sauces and side dishes serving a growing customer base across the retail and foodservice channels. The company is a perfect partner to serve NORPAC’s soup customers. NORPAC will continue to support the business going forward.
“As we tighten our focus on our core frozen vegetable and fruit business, we are pleased to be able to transition our soup business to a strong operator with a shared focus on customer service and providing the highest-quality products to the market,” said Shawn Campbell, CEO of NORPAC Foods. “We appreciate the commitment and guidance provided by D.A. Davidson throughout the process and look forward to their continued involvement as we assess the strategic alternatives for our business going forward.”
“The addition of NORPAC’s soup business to the Kettle Cuisine platform is a tremendous fit,” said Jeff Cleveland, Managing Director and head of Food, Beverage and Agriculture Investment Banking at D.A. Davidson. “We are pleased for both organizations and look forward to continuing our relationship with NORPAC Foods.”
D.A. Davidson’s investment banking division is a leading full-service investment bank that offers comprehensive financial advisory and capital markets expertise. The group has extensive transaction experience serving middle market clients worldwide across five industry verticals: consumer, diversified industrials, financial institutions, real estate and technology. This transaction represents another successful closing for D.A. Davidson’s investment banking group, which has completed over 100 transactions since January 2017.
Together with its European strategic partner, MCF Corporate Finance, D.A. Davidson originates and executes transatlantic M&A transactions under the common brand of D.A. Davidson MCF International.
About NORPAC Foods, Inc.
Founded in 1924, NORPAC Foods is a farmer-owned cooperative focused on processing frozen vegetables and fruit. Headquartered in Salem, Oregon, NORPAC is Oregon’s largest fruit and vegetable processor and has three processing facilities in the Willamette Valley, along with a subsidiary Hermiston Foods, LLC in Hermiston, Oregon and a subsidiary Quincy Foods, LLC in Quincy, Washington.
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 25 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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