San Francisco, California, July 13, 2023 – Encore Consumer Capital (“Encore”), a private equity firm that invests exclusively in food and consumer products, is pleased to announce the sale of MBC Companies (“MBC”) to Entrepreneurial Equity Partners (“e2p”).
MBC is a frozen breakfast foods manufacturer and distributor created from the acquisition of Murry’s Inc. (“Murry’s) in 2019 and Bake Crafters Food Company (“Bake Crafters”) in 2022. Murry’s is a manufacturer of frozen French toast sticks and bites that are sold into the private label retail and foodservice channels. Bake Crafters is a manufacturer and distributor of breakfast and other baked goods products, selling primarily into the K-12 school foodservice channel.
Kate Wallman, Managing Director of Encore Consumer Capital, said, “This is the largest dollar return exit in Encore’s 18-year history. We are so pleased that MBC’s Chairman, Ira Mendelson, selected Encore as his strategic and financial partner in 2019 for his family business. Over the course of Encore’s investment, Ira and the team at MBC drove tremendous growth.”
“Encore’s strategic guidance and support allowed us to complete a transformational add-on acquisition that we would not have undertaken independently. Encore knows how to work with family-owned businesses as they transition under private equity ownership and helped us recruit CEO Jeff Ahlers from their deep network of food manufacturing executives,” said Mendelson. Ahlers added, “I am thrilled to have been part of the growth of MBC under Encore’s ownership and am excited to lead this business in its next chapter with e2p.”
Harris Williams provided strategic and financial advisory services to MBC Companies. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP acted as legal counsel to MBC Companies.
The statement quoted above was made by an executive of an Encore Consumer Capital (“Encore”) portfolio company. Such executive has not received compensation for the above statement and this statement is solely his or her opinion and representative of his or her experience with Encore. An Encore portfolio company executive may have an incentive to make a statement that portrays Encore in a positive light as a result of any influence Encore may have over the governance of the portfolio company and the compensation of its executives. It should not be assumed that Encore’s investment in such portfolio company has been or will ultimately be profitable.
About Encore Consumer Capital
Encore Consumer Capital is a private equity investment firm focused on the consumer products industry. The firm has raised approximately $750 million in equity capital and invested in over 38 companies in the sector. Encore’s current and prior investments include food and beverage manufacturers and marketers, pet products companies, personal care/beauty companies, and food distribution companies. The firm targets companies with between $10 million and $100 million in annual revenues where Encore’s strong expertise in strategy development, brand marketing, manufacturing and supply chain optimization, and distribution expansion can drive performance.