Houlihan Lokey Advises Steven Charles

Houlihan Lokey's Consumer, Food & Retail Group is pleased to announce that Steven Charles – A Dessert Company (Steven Charles) has been acquired by Dessert Holdings, a portfolio company of Bain Capital Private Equity. The transaction closed on December 30, 2021.

Founded in 1995, Steven Charles crafts unique, premium desserts for restaurants and grocery retailers across North America. The company is known for its chef-driven innovation grounded in curiosity, inspiration, and expertise coupled with high-quality ingredients, resulting in the world’s most enjoyable, memorable desserts for foodservice outlets, hospitality operators, and retail and in-store bakeries. The company operates facilities in Aurora, Colorado, and Pembroke, North Carolina.

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 supply chain, and best-in-class service. Based in Saint 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.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Steven Charles and assisted in structuring and negotiating the transaction on its behalf.

This deal represents another successful transaction for Houlihan Lokey in the North American bakery sector following the sale of the Weston Foods ambient bakery business to Hearthside Food Solutions, the Weston Foods fresh and frozen bakery businesses to FGF Brands, Dessert Holdings to Bain Capital, the North American business of ARYZTA AG to Lindsay Goldberg, Give & Go to Mondelēz International, Venice Bakery to Rich Products, and C.H. Guenther & Son, Inc., to PPC Partners.