Situation Overview:

A successful and growing family-owned distributor of specialty produce decided to sell the business.

Our Client:

• Bandwagon Brokerage is a 40-year old distributor of specialty produce selling to other distributors around the country and sourcing product domestically and globally.
• Dennis Berman co-founded the business with his wife Ilene Berman and neither of their two sons ever worked in the business.  
• The Bermans also own the property that is leased to the business.
• The Bermans wanted to being plans for retirement.

The Goal:

• Maximize the value for the shareholders while ensuring the future success of the Company by selling it to a strong future owner.
• Conduct a formal sale process soliciting interest from multiple strategic and financial buyers simultaneously.

 The Outcome:

• Bandwagon was successfully sold to Wholesale Produce Supply, a Minnesota-based produce distributor owned by Cross Rapids Capital, a private equity firm executing a roll-up.
• Like Bandwagon, WPS also sold to other distributors and had been purchasing specialty produce from one of Bandwagon’s fiercest competitors. 
• The acquisition allowed WPS to consolidate its purchases of specialty produce under Bandwagon thereby increasing its margins and ensuring adequate supply. The acquisition also allowed WPS to expand geographically.
• Dennis Berman, President & CEO of Bandwagon, said “We are thankful to our dedicated employees as well as to our long-term customers, growers and vendors…We also appreciate the incredible job done by our investment banking firm, Calabasas Capital led by David Bonrouhi who played a key role and was instrumental in our selection of WPS as our partner of choice. David’s deep knowledge of the food industry and adept skillset in mergers and acquisitions proved invaluable to me and my wife and business partner Ilene Berman and we are thrilled with the outcome.”