Rise Baking sale looks to PE while Teasdale auction hits a bump

Two processes in the consumer sector are producing two very different results: In one, private equity firms are triumphing over strategics, while the other struggles after a lead banker departed.

Arbor Investments’ sale of Rise Baking looks to be in the home stretch. The Chicago PE firm received multiple bids for the company with the process leaning more to PE, sources said.

“Private equity wants to pay more” than strategics, one of the sources said.

It’s unclear who is bidding for Rise Baking or when final bids are expected. Proposals are weighing in at roughly $550 million, sources said.

Harris Williams and Evercore are advising on the sale, Buyouts reported in May.

Rise Baking, Minneapolis, is known for its artisan bread, cookies as well as crispy bars and brownies. Arbor used a rollup strategy to form Rise, combining New French Bakery, Best Maid Cookie and South Coast Baking.

While the Rise auction rises, Snow Phipps’s sale of Teasdale Foods is struggling, according to three sources.

The New York buyout shop put Teasdale up for sale in January, seeking $500 million for the provider of Hispanic food products, Buyouts said in January. Morgan Stanley is advising on the process.

Potential buyers have issues with Teasdale’s valuation in light of a “heavily adjusted set of numbers to buy off of,” one of the sources said.

Also complicating issues was the mid-process departure of a lead Morgan Stanley banker, people said. Ben Frost, global co-head of consumer retail banking at Morgan Stanley, left the IB in April, Reuters reported.

Frost has joined Goldman Sachs as a partner, a spokeswoman said. He is head of M&A for Goldman’s consumer retail group, she said.

Snow Phipps, Teasdale, Arbor, Rise Baking, Morgan Stanley, Harris Williams, and Evercore could not be reached for comment.

Action Item: Contact Rise CEO Michael Schultz at +1 612-455-7500