Aug 16, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Yukon Supports Centre Partners' Investment in Golding Farms Foods

Yukon Partners (“Yukon”), a provider of mezzanine capital for middle market private equity transactions, is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Centre Partners (“Centre”) in its investment in Golding Farms Foods, Inc. (“Golding Farms” or the “Company”), a leading manufacturer of private label, branded, and co-manufactured sauces and condiments.

Founded in 1972 by Tony Golding and based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Golding Farms maintains a best-in-class, SQF Level 3-certified facility with highly efficient processing and packaging capabilities. The Company serves a wide range of end markets with product categories including Asian sauces, honeys, aiolis, steak sauces, syrups, Worcestershire sauces and relishes.

John Frostad, an entrepreneur and executive with over 30 years of experience in the private label and branded packaged food industry, will join the Golding Farms team as CEO. Mr. Frostad previously founded and served as President and CEO of Snack Alliance, a leading private label snack food manufacturer.

Centre sponsored the transaction in which it, Yukon, and other institutional co-investors facilitated the investment in Golding Farms. SunTrust Bank provided the senior credit facility and mezzanine capital was provided by Yukon. Dorsey & Whitney, LLP served as legal counsel to Yukon.

“Golding Farms is a special company with long-standing relationships and commitments to its customers, suppliers and employees, as well as the Winston-Salem community,” said John Frostad, CEO of Golding Farms. “I look forward to working with each of these constituents to grow Golding Farms in the coming years.”

“I am pleased to welcome Centre Partners and John Frostad to the Golding Farms family,” stated Mr. Golding. “I am excited for this new partnership and look forward to a bright future.”

“Golding Farms has a 45-year history of providing excellent products and service to its retail grocery partners through its dedicated employees, impressive product development and innovation capabilities, and highly efficient manufacturing operation with leading food safety industry certifications,” said David Jaffe, Managing Partner of Centre. “Golding Farms represents an opportunity for us to invest in a high-growth food business and accelerate growth further with additional management resources and investment capital. We are thrilled to have our friends at Yukon join us as we look to execute on our investment thesis.”

Michael Hall, Managing Partner of Yukon, added, “Yukon is excited to partner with Golding Farms and Centre to support the next phase of the Company’s growth. Golding Farms’ reputation as a high-quality sauce and condiment manufacturer positions it well for continued growth in the food industry.”

About Golding Farms Foods
Headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Golding Farms Foods is a leading manufacturer of private label, branded, and co-manufactured sauces and condiments. Founded by Tony Golding in 1972, Golding Farms maintains a best-in-class, SQF Level 3-certified facility with highly-efficient processing and packaging capabilities to serve a wide range of end markets and product categories. For more information, please visit www.goldingfarms.com.

About Yukon Partners
Yukon Partners is an independent and unaffiliated junior capital provider, primarily serving middle market private equity sponsor led business transactions in the U.S. and Canada. The transactions in which Yukon invests include buyouts, growth and platform strategies, recapitalizations, mergers/acquisitions, and public-to-private buyouts. Yukon typically invests $10 to $50 million per transaction and currently manages approximately $1.2 billion across three funds. Yukon Partners is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For more information, please visit www.yukonpartners.com.

About Centre Partners
Founded in 1986, Centre Partners is a leading middle-market private equity firm focusing on the consumer and healthcare sectors, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Centre has invested over $2 billion of equity capital in more than 75 transactions since its inception. Centre seeks to partner with founders and management teams to build exceptional businesses. Centre provides management teams access to its unique resources, which includes an extended network of experienced and proven operating executives. Additional information is available at www.centrepartners.com.