G&S Owners Decide to Sell, Find Acquirer in Neighboring Town after Conducting Extensive National Search
After conducting an extensive national search for the ideal company to acquire a central Pennsylvania snack food business whose owners decided to divest their ownership, SC&H Capital generated multiple offers from potential buyers but the company owners felt that the perfect partner was right next door in a neighboring town – no surprise, perhaps, given the area is referred to as the snack food capital of the world.
G&S Foods/Tastysnack Quality Foods Inc., the Abbottstown, Pa. manufacturer, finalized its sale today to MAW Acquisitions LP, an Elizabethtown, Pa.-based investment company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“It is genuinely exciting that we were able to forge a deal with local investors who actually know the employees and the business,” said Kevin O’Sullivan, the SC&H Capital Principal who orchestrated the transaction on behalf of G&S.
Steve Garvick and Dale Spahr founded G&S in 1996. Three years later, they expanded by acquiring Tastysnack Quality Foods Inc. The combined company, which currently employs more than 100 employees and operates out of a 110,000-square-foot facility, manufactures various snacks under private labels, co-packs products, and specializes in “enrobing” for other food companies. As an example, an independent manufacturer sends its pretzels to G&S to be coated — or enrobed — in chocolate.
After more than 20 years at the helm, Garvick and Spahr decided to sell the business so they could move on to the next phase of their lives. But they weren’t willing to sell to just anyone. Since inception, they had come to view their company and employees as members of their own family, members they would not part with unless they could find someone who would care for and about them, just as Garvick and Spahr had.
“Identifying the right fit for a seller is not just about securing the best valuation. It’s also about finding a buyer or investor who sees the same future for the business as the owners. Sellers want to feel comfortable when they turn over the keys,” O’Sullivan of SC&H said.
O’Sullivan said he was gratified to hear G&S’s employees applaud when they learned the identity and heard the plans of their new owner.
G&S certainly seems well positioned to continue flourishing. U.S. sales of snack foods are surging. Total revenue is expected to surpass $93 billion in 2022, according to Freedonia Focus Reports, a market research firm.
Consumer appetites are doing more than driving sales. They are also contributing to a frothy M&A marketplace for the food and beverage industry. Last year, for example, there were three individual deals that were closed for $4 billion or more — by Campbell Soup, McCormick & Co., and Tyson Foods.
For SC&H, G&S marked its second successful transaction in the food and beverage industry during the past 12 months.
About SC&H Capital
SC&H Capital, an affiliate of SC&H Group, is an investment banking and advisory firm providing merger and acquisition (M&A), employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), capital raising, and business valuation solutions to middle market and growth companies nationwide. SC&H Capital delivers investment banking and advisory services across numerous industries including technology, healthcare, manufacturing, and government contracting to help owners achieve their exit planning goals and liquidity objectives. To learn more visit www.schcapital.com
