Brynwood Partners IX L.P. portfolio company Hometown Food Co. recently entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Chef Boyardee brand for $600 million from Conagra Brands. The transaction includes the 820,000-square-foot Chef Boyardee facility in Milton, Pa., as well as all assets and operations dedicated to the brand. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, subject to customary US regulatory review.

Chef Boyardee offers shelf-stable meals, including both canned and microwave formats. The business has a heritage spanning over 100 years. The brand began when Chef Hector Boiardi immigrated from Italy to the US in the early 1900s. Chef Boyardee products are primarily sold in the grocery, mass retailer and dollar store channels across the US and have a strong presence in Canada and Puerto Rico. The business's Milton, Pa., manufacturing facility, with its approximately 500 employees, will complement Hometown's three existing manufacturing facilities.

Hometown Food Co. was formed by Brynwood in 2018 to acquire a portfolio of brands from The J.M. Smucker Co. With the acquisition of Chef Boyardee, Hometown will have annual gross revenues exceeding $1.6 billion and have four manufacturing facilities across the Northeastern, Midwestern, South Central and Southeastern US, supported by approximately 1,500 employees.

"The Chef Boyardee acquisition marks the single largest acquisition in Brynwood's 40-year history," said Henk Hartong, chairman and CEO of Brynwood Partners. "We are excited to add the iconic Chef Boyardee brand to the Hometown collection of nostalgic brands that offer a longstanding rich heritage. We have grown the Hometown portfolio by nearly twofold since we formed the business and are confident that we can reinvigorate the Chef Boyardee brand and extend into new formats quickly."

"We are thrilled to welcome Chef Boyardee into the Hometown family and will run the business from our corporate headquarters in Chicago," said Tom Polke, president and CEO of Hometown Food Co. "We look forward to working with the Conagra team to effect a smooth transition of the business."

Chef Boyardee increases the total Brynwood Partners manufacturing network to 20 US facilities, approximately 5,500 employees and over $3.7 billion in annual sales. Four of Brynwood's portfolio companies are based in in the Chicagoland area and are supported by six factories.

Brynwood Partners was represented by Holland & Knight LLP on legal matters.

Source: Brynwood Partners IX L.P.