Olympus Lifts its Game, Acquires Rise Baking Company

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Aug 09, 2018, 10:28 ET

STAMFORD, Conn., Aug. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Stamford, CT based private equity firm Olympus Partners has acquired Rise Baking Company ("Rise"), from private equity firm Arbor Investments. Rise is the preeminent manufacturer of premium cookies, dessert bars, artisan breads, and flatbreads. Rise's impressive track record of product innovation, consistent high quality service, and food safety has made them a premier supplier to the in-store bakery, foodservice and convenience channels in North America.

Led by CEO, Mike Schultz, Rise Baking Company has a deep and experienced team that has proven to be a value added partner to their customers driving consistent organic growth. The team has also successfully executed and integrated multiple acquisitions, increasing Rise's geographic reach, expanding their product offering, and enabling them to better service customers. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, Rise employs more than 1,000 people across six facilities in North America.

"The Rise management team has built a remarkable business that has led to impressive growth across all of their products and customers. Rise is a well-invested and highly attractive business in the bakery sector," said Mike Horgan, a Partner at Olympus. Jim Conroy, a Managing Partner at Olympus, added, "We are thrilled to back this team as they continue to grow their existing business and pursue transformational acquisitions."

Mike Schultz, CEO of Rise, said "The entire team is excited to partner with Olympus to continue growing Rise Baking into a North American bakery leader. We have found another great partner who fully supports our team, our employees and our future plans. Olympus is the right partner to help Rise continue to grow in the coming years."

Founded in 1988, Olympus Partners is a private equity firm focused on providing equity capital for middle market management buyouts and for companies needing capital for expansion. Olympus is an active, long-term investor across a broad range of industries including business services, food services, consumer products, healthcare services, financial services, industrial services, and manufacturing.

Olympus manages in excess of $8.5 billion mainly on behalf of corporate pension funds, endowment funds and state-sponsored retirement programs. The Olympus team included Jim Conroy, Mike Horgan, Griffin Barstis, Sam Greenberg, Ozan Cubukcu, Robby Polakoff and Bohdan Tyshynsky. Olympus was represented by Benjamin Clinger, Matthew Goulding, and Devon Mongeluzzi from Kirkland & Ellis LLP.