Houlihan Lokey Advises Whitebridge Pet Brands (3)

Transaction: Houlihan Lokey Advises Whitebridge Pet Brands (3)

Houlihan Lokey’s Consumer, Food & Retail Group is pleased to announce that Whitebridge Pet Brands, LLC (Whitebridge), a portfolio company of Frontenac, has been acquired by NXMH. The transaction closed on July 29, 2021.

Whitebridge was founded in January 2015 with the merger of Cloud Star and Petropics, the maker of Tiki Brands®. The company acquired Dogswell®, a leading brand of functional jerkies for dogs, in April 2017; Cardinal Pet Care, maker of Pet Botanics® and Crazy Dog® training treats, in January 2020; and Grizzly Pet Products, a leader in pet supplements, in March 2021. Whitebridge’s strategy is to build an innovative pet food company that brings health and happiness to pets and owners with a range of minimally processed, natural, and wholesome dog and cat foods, treats, complements, and supplements. Whitebridge is led by CEO Olivier Amice and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, with manufacturing operations in Joplin, Missouri, Woodinville, Washington, and Copenhagen, Denmark.

Frontenac is a Chicago-based private equity firm. The firm focuses on investing in lower-middle-market buyout transactions in the consumer, industrial, and services industries. Frontenac works in partnership with established operating leaders through an executive-centric approach called CEO1ST, which seeks to identify, acquire, and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and operational excellence. Over the last 50 years, Frontenac has built a leading franchise working with over 275 owners of midsized businesses as they address complex transition issues of liquidity, management enhancement, and growth planning.

NXMH is a Brussels-based, family-owned investment firm with €4 billion of assets under management. NXMH manages an evergreen source of capital.

Houlihan Lokey served as the financial advisor to Whitebridge Pet Brands. This deal represents another successful transaction for Houlihan Lokey in the consumer, food, and retail space.

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