Brynwood Partners purchases De Wafelbakkers

Brynwood Partners VIII has acquired De Wafelbakkers from The Oklahoma Publishing Company, a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation. 

Headquartered in Arkansas, US, De Wafelbakkers is a manufacturer of branded and private label frozen pancakes, waffles and French toast, that also offers co-packing services.

The company operates two production plants, in North Little Rock, Arkansas and McDonough, Georgia, and supplies its products to grocery and mass retailers as well as foodservice outlets across the US. 

With its acquisition of De Wafelbakkers, Brynwood aims to expand its footprint in the food and beverage category.

The private equity firm’s portfolio features names such as Harvest Hill Beverage Company and Hometown Food Company, while Brynwood also owns the rights to the Buitoni pasta brand in the US, Canada and Caribbean territories, following a deal with Nestlé last year.

Commenting on the De Wafelbakkers acquisition, Brynwood Partners chairman and CEO Henk Hartong III, said: “Brynwood already has a presence in the breakfast category through its dry mix offerings with its Hungry Jack and Arrowhead Mills brands, owned by Brynwood portfolio company Hometown Food Company. 

“We also have extensive experience in the frozen manufacturing space and believe that we can partner with the management team to accelerate performance in the De Wafelbakkers business. The frozen pancake, waffle and French toast market is a growing space and we are excited to be invested in the category with such a significant manufacturing player.”

The acquisition of De Wafelbakkers is said to expand the overall Brynwood manufacturing platform to 16 facilities, around 4,100 employees and more than $2.2 billion in annual sales.

The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.