Brynwood Partners VI’s newly-formed portfolio company, Sun Country Foods, Inc, has acquired the Kretschmer wheat germ brand and manufacturing facility from The Quaker Oats Company. Sun Country Foods purchased the rights to the Kretschmer brand in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Additionally, Sun Country Foods acquired the Sun Country trademark. Terms and conditions of the transaction, which closed yesterday, were not disclosed.
Sun Country Foods will be headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts with its manufacturing facility to continue to be located in Manhattan, Kansas. The company intends to retain existing employees to support plant productions.
Kretschmer, an iconic brand that was founded over 70 years ago, is the largest wheat germ brand in the US. As part of this transaction, Brynwood VI announced the appointments of Roy Lubetkin as President and CEO and Michael Morin as CFO of the company. Prior to joining Sun Country Foods, Lubetkin served as CEO of Backyard Farms, LLC and prior to that held executive and marketing positions at Kraft Foods, Inc. Morin previously served as CFO of Richelieu Foods, Inc, a successful Brynwood Partners V L.P. portfolio company that was divested in 2010.
"We are pleased to announce the acquisition of the Kretschmer wheat germ brand and its manufacturing facility from Quaker Oats," says Henk Hartong III, Chairman, Sun Country Foods and Senior Managing Partner, Brynwood VI. "The Sun Country acquisition marks Brynwood Partners’ 20th corporate divestiture acquisition from eleven different corporate sellers. Kretschmer is a well-known brand with excellent nutrition and wellness attributes. We intend to grow the Kretschmer brand organically and will seek strategic add-on acquisitions to grow the Sun Country Foods platform."
