MINNEAPOLIS–Yukon Partners (“Yukon”), a provider of mezzanine capital for middle market private equity transactions, is pleased to announce it has partnered with Ridgemont Equity Partners (“Ridgemont”) to support the recapitalization of Worldwide Produce (“Worldwide” or the “Company”).
Worldwide is a leading distributor of fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and specialty foods to restaurants, foodservice customers, and grocery stores across the Western United States. The Company operates five climate-controlled distribution facilities across its geographic footprint.
“Ridgemont’s partnership with Worldwide Produce is the culmination of a multi-year firm effort to invest in the B2B food supply chain industry, based on the resilience of the food end market, durable shifts in consumer preferences for ‘better for you’ foods and the increasing consumption of food away from the home,” said John Grenier, Principal at Ridgemont. “Worldwide Produce exemplifies many of the most important characteristics that we had been seeking – the Company has a diversified customer and product mix, operates in a large and fragmented industry and is led by a strong, well-rounded management team that has experience executing organic and M&A growth initiatives.”
Tim Dillon, Partner at Ridgemont, added: “We are excited to help implement a growth and value creation strategy that we’ve been successful executing with other specialty distributors. Together with management and Sole Source, we have the opportunity to build a super-regional leader through selective acquisition across the United States. We are all aligned on how to invest in the team and operations so that the Company can enter new markets and win new business. Worldwide is large enough to benefit from scale with an extensive product and service offering, but locally-focused to deliver a high-touch customer experience on a daily basis.”
“We look forward to continuing our track record of adding new independent specialty food distributors to the Worldwide Produce footprint and integrating operations and relationships to strengthen our position in the market with our grower partners and customers,” said Todd Ferguson, CEO of Worldwide Produce. “We have the best salesforce in the business in our regions – they are knowledgeable and passionate and have built trusted relationships with key members of the local food communities. We will continue to focus on recruiting and supporting our salespeople and other employees as we scale our Company.”
“We are excited to be partnering with Ridgemont and the Worldwide management team,” said William Dietz, Managing Partner of Yukon. “Worldwide has a strong position in a stable and attractive market, and we look forward to supporting the Company as it capitalizes on its many exciting growth opportunities. Yukon has successfully partnered with Ridgemont in the past, and we respect the value-added relationship. We look forward to partnering with them again on Worldwide.”
Dorsey & Whitney LLP provided legal counsel to Yukon.
About Worldwide Produce
Worldwide Produce is a leading distributor of fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products and specialty foods to restaurants, foodservice customers, and grocery stores across the Western United States. The Company continues to expand its footprint quickly through organic growth and acquisitions. Worldwide Produce offers an extensive selection of fresh and specialty food products, sourced directly from its best-in-class grower and supplier network, to its foodservice-focused customer base. For more information, please visitwww.wwproduce.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 up to $60 million per transaction and currently manages over $1.8 billion across four funds. Yukon Partners has offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Boston, Massachusetts, and West Palm Beach, Florida. For more information, please visit www.yukonpartners.com.
About Ridgemont Equity Partners
Ridgemont Equity Partners is a Charlotte-based middle market private equity firm that has provided buyout and growth capital to industry-leading companies in the business and tech-enabled services, industrial growth, and healthcare sectors for nearly three decades. The principals of Ridgemont have refined a proven, industry-focused model designed to build distinctive middle market companies. For more information, please visit www.ridgemontep.com.
