York-based Stonewall Kitchen purchased by Boston investment firm
File Photo / Jim Neuger
Stonewall Kitchen is led by CEO John Stiker.
Stonewall Kitchen, a specialty food producer headquartered in York and previously owned by New York-based Centre Partners, has been acquired by a Boston private equity firm.
Audax Private Equity took a majority ownership in Stonewall, spokeswoman Margaux Maertens told Mainebiz by email Thursday morning. She declined to disclose terms of the deal.
With the infusion of new capital, “we may look to expand our retail footprint and we will certainly look to continuing growth through strategic acquisitions,” she said.
Audax and Stonewall Kitchen intend to accelerate the company's plans to become one of the leading specialty food platforms in North America, according to a Thursday news release.
Current management will remain in place, including CEO John Stiker, President and COO Lori King and Executive Vice President Natalie King.
"Alongside Audax, we will be looking to continue our dynamic acquisition efforts while also growing our heritage Stonewall Kitchen brand,” Stiker said in the release. “Our focus will be on identifying products and companies that match our high-quality standard for delicious food.”
In 2014, Stonewall was purchased by Stiker's firm, Centre Partners, a middle market-focused private equity group that invests in health care and consumer companies. Over the next five years, Stonewall nearly doubled in size, according to the release. That growth included the acquisition of several product brands, expanded distribution and a licensing agreement with Boston-based restaurant chain Legal Sea Foods.
Centre Partners confirmed in a news release Thursday that it sold its stake in Stonewall to Audax. The Boston firm currently holds investments in over 100 companies in a wide variety of industries.
Founded in 1991 by partners Jonathan King and Jim Stott, Stonewall Kitchen began business by selling jams and jellies at local farmers' markets. Today its product line includes sauces, condiments, crackers and baking mixes.
The company has more than 8,500 wholesale accounts in the U.S. and elsewhere, operates two cooking schools, and sells through an online and catalog division as well as retail stores in Camden, Portland, York and six other New England locations.
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