Houlihan Lokey Advises Dessert Holdings

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Dessert Holdings, a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors (Gryphon), has been acquired by Bain Capital Private Equity (Bain Capital). The transaction closed on June 10, 2021.

Dessert Holdings® is North America’s premium dessert company, recognized for providing retail and foodservice customers with chef-inspired innovative desserts made with real ingredients, a flexible and low-cost supply chain, and best-in-class service. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Dessert Holdings is an umbrella organization of three premium dessert companies and brands: The Original Cakerie, Lawler’s Desserts, and Atlanta Cheesecake Company. Together, the companies serve more than 250 customers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, and Asia.

Based in San Francisco, Gryphon Investors is a leading private equity firm focused on profitably growing and competitively enhancing middle-market companies in partnership with experienced management. The firm has managed over $5.0 billion of equity investments and capital since 1997. Gryphon targets making equity investments of $50 million to $300 million in portfolio companies with enterprise values ranging from approximately $100 million to $600 million. Gryphon prioritizes investment opportunities where it can form strong partnerships with owners and executives to build leading companies, utilizing Gryphon’s capital, specialized professional resources, and operational expertise.

Bain Capital Private Equity has partnered closely with management teams to provide the strategic resources that build great companies and help them thrive since its founding in 1984. Bain Capital Private Equity’s global team of more than 250 investment professionals creates value for its portfolio companies through its global platform and depth of expertise in key vertical industries, including healthcare, consumer/retail, financial and business services, industrials, and technology, media, and telecommunications. Bain Capital has 22 offices on four continents. The firm has made primary or add-on investments in more than 1,000 companies since its inception. In addition to private equity, Bain Capital invests across asset classes, including credit, public equity, venture capital, and real estate, managing approximately $130 billion in total and leveraging the firm’s shared platform to capture opportunities in strategic areas of focus.

This deal represents another successful transaction for Houlihan Lokey in the value-added bakery sector following the sales of the North American business of ARYZTA AG to Lindsay Goldberg, Give & Go to Mondelēz, and C.H. Guenther & Son, Inc., to PPC Partners.

Houlihan Lokey acted as the financial advisor to the sellers and assisted in negotiating the transaction on their behalf.