Interest rates just came down! And, as signaled by the recent mega Mars-Kellanova deal, major food makers are poised to accelerate M&A in 2024. An abundance of “dry powder,” strong corporate balance sheets and the anticyclical nature of food and beverage products position the sector for strong M&A activity.
Does this mark a significant change from the food and beverage sector focus on so-called “bolt-on” transactions? Have we finally turned the corner on a market in 2023 that had its share of headwinds, driven by rising capital costs, and an abundance of caution in due diligence?
Join the conversation along with CFBN and a panel of experts on October 9th on what lies ahead in the food & beverage M&A market for the balance of 2024 and into next year. See who’s bearish, who’s bullish, and who’s going to make waves in the next year.
Also, we will have a brief presentation from Bigger Table about food insecurity in Chicagoland and what we can all do to address it and support underserved communities.
Agenda
5:00 PM Doors Open / Welcome / Cocktails and Appetizers
5:30 PM Presentation and Panel Discussion
6:30 PM Q&A
6:45 PM Special Surprise Guest
7:00 PM What is Bigger Table (and Why it Matters)?
7:15 PM Networking
8:00 PM Event Ends
PAnelISTS
Sequoya Borgman
Founder and CEO
Borgman Capital
Sequoya Borgman is the Founder and CEO of Borgman Capital, a lower middle market private equity firm with offices in Milwaukee and the Twin Cities. He has more than two decades of mergers and acquisitions structuring, planning, and due diligence experience. Prior to founding Borgman Capital in 2017, Sequoya was a partner and practice leader for RSM US LLP, a large multi-national public accounting firm. Much of his practice consisted of private equity firms or their partner companies. He has extensive experience consulting on complex transactions for both large public and large and small private companies, many with international operations. He has been involved in hundreds of merger, acquisition, restructuring, and financing transactions over his career.
Your Host: Randy Bridgeman
Partner
Perkins Coie
Randy Bridgeman represents businesses and their owners in sale transactions, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and general corporate matters throughout a wide variety of industries. He frequently serves as the client’s primary outside counsel, quarterbacking all its legal matters and utilization of legal resources. While Randy represents clients in a wide range of industries, he has worked extensively in the food and beverage sector, including beverage alcohol. He also represents companies with domestic and overseas operations in such sectors as gaming, transportation, industrial manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, waste management, and financial services.
He has extensive experience in representing management groups in various strategic transactions, counseling them on equity liquidation strategies and issues as well as executive employment matters.
Will Busch III
Managing Director
Tilia Holdings
Will Busch III joined Tilia as Managing Director, Organizational Strategy & Transformation in 2023. Will Busch III brings over 15 years of experience in designing, implementing, and leading strategic human capital initiatives that accelerate profitable growth. Most recently, Will led the Private Equity practice at FMG Leading as Managing Director, Growth Strategies. Prior to FMG Leading, Will held a variety of executive roles at Korn Ferry and Gallup, where he developed a unique approach to business transformation that incorporated strategy execution, behavioral economics, change management, and customer analytics to create and capture value. Specializing in growth-focused firms and investors, Will’s expertise leverages human capital and organizational growth levers to drive revenue generation and enhance operational efficiency.
Thomas J. DeMinico
Director
BMO Middle Market M&A
Thomas DeMinico is a seasoned investment banker with extensive experience advising clients on mergers, acquisitions, capital raising, and strategic advisory assignments primarily within the consumer landscape. He is currently a Director on the Food, Consumer, and Retail Team of BMO Middle Market M&A, where he leads efforts in branded foods and pet products and services. Prior to BMO, he held investment banking positions with Harris Williams and Greene Holcomb Fisher and was in the consumer equity research group at Northland Securities. Thomas holds board seats with multiple consumer businesses including Bizzy Cold Brew and Bow Wow Labs and maintains advisory relationships with several other food and consumer companies.
Moderator: Alexi Panagiotakopoulos
Co-Founder, Partner and Chief Investment Officer
Fundamental Income
Fundamental Income is a private $1.6+ billion institutional real estate platform, backed by Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM), focused on sale leasebacks of single-tenant buildings leased to middle-market operating companies. Alexi is a member of the Board and jointly leads the Investment Committee alongside Co-Founder, CEO Chris Burbach. He’s served in his role for 5+ years and has 13+ years and $3.0+ billion of investing and transaction experience. He previously served as Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives for SMS Financial, a distressed debt firm and FDIC joint venture partner. Alexi was instrumental in the acquisition, recovery, and servicing of $940+ million of commercial debt across asset classes. In his role, he co-managed acquisitions, underwriting, portfolio management and dispositions. Prior to SMS, he specialized in underwriting at STORE Capital Corporation (previously NYSE: STOR).
Helana Robbins-Huddleston, CPA, CIRA
Partner, Transactional Advisory Services
Manufacturing and Distribution Industry - Co-Leader
CohnReznick
Helana Robbins Huddleston provides transaction and related advisory services to clients in a range of different industries. She has over 22 years of expertise in financial due diligence, restructuring, cash flow budgeting, financial auditing, internal control evaluation, and business process improvement. In addition to her role in transaction advisory, Helana is the co-leader of CohnReznick’s Manufacturing & Distribution practice and is a member of the Firm's Private Equity and Venture Capital Industry Practice.
Jeff Smart
Principal
Shore Capital Partners
Jeff is a Principal at Shore Capital, a lower middle-market private equity firm focused on partnering with companies that have between $1-10 million of EBITDA. Jeff’s responsibilities include sourcing, evaluating, and enabling the growth of Shore’s investments in the food and beverage industry and leading Shore Search Partners, Shore’s search fund investing strategy. Jeff currently sits on the board of Sweetmore Bakeries (a commercial bakery serving grocery stores and fast casual foodservice), Whetstone Distribution (a Midwest-based meat distributor and processor) and SDC Nutrition (a nutritional supplements co-manufacturer).
This event is sponsored by:
And proceeds will benefit:
We thank the following participating companies:
