GREENWICH, Conn., Nov. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Brynwood Partners VI L.P. announced today that its newly–formed portfolio company, Sun Country Foods, Inc., has acquired the Kretschmer wheat germ brand and manufacturing facility from The Quaker Oats Company. Sun Country Foods purchased the rights to the Kretschmer brand in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Additionally, Sun Country Foods acquired the Sun Country trademark. Terms and conditions of the transaction, which closed yesterday, were not disclosed.

Sun Country Foods will be headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts with its manufacturing facility to continue to be located in Manhattan, Kansas. The company intends to retain existing employees to support plant productions.

Kretschmer, an iconic brand that was founded over 70 years ago, is the largest wheat germ brand in the U.S. As part of this transaction, Brynwood VI announced the appointments of Roy Lubetkin as President and CEO and Michael Morin as CFO of the company. Prior to joining Sun Country Foods, Mr. Lubetkin served as CEO of Backyard Farms, LLC and prior to that held executive and marketing positions at Kraft Foods, Inc. Mr. Morin previously served as CFO of Richelieu Foods, Inc., a successful Brynwood Partners V L.P. portfolio company that was divested in 2010.

“We are pleased to announce the acquisition of the Kretschmer wheat germ brand and its manufacturing facility from Quaker Oats,” said Henk Hartong III, Chairman, Sun Country Foods and Senior Managing Partner, Brynwood VI. “The Sun Country acquisition marks Brynwood Partners’ 20th corporate divestiture acquisition from eleven different corporate sellers. Kretschmer is a well-known brand with excellent nutrition and wellness attributes. We intend to grow the Kretschmer brand organically and will seek strategic add–on acquisitions to grow the Sun Country Foods platform.”

Brynwood Partners has a strong investment track record in the food space. Brynwood VI holds an investment in DeMet’s Candy Company, a leading U.S.-based chocolate confectionery company manufacturing and marketing the Turtles, Flipz and Treasures brands. In 2010, DeMet’s acquired the TrueNorth nut snack brand from Frito-Lay North America, a division of PepsiCo, Inc. Brynwood VI owns the Balance Bar Company which was acquired from Kraft Foods, Inc. Balance Bar markets the Balance Bar line of energy / nutrition bars. Most recently, Brynwood VI acquired Pearson Candy Company, a leading manufacturer and marketer of widely recognized confectionery brands including Pearson’s Salted Nut Roll, Pearson’s Mint Patties, Pearson’s Nut Goodies and Pearson’s Bun. In 2010, Brynwood V divested Richelieu Foods which was a leader in the private label frozen pizza and pourables food categories.

About Brynwood Partners:

Founded in 1984, Brynwood Partners is an operationally-focused private equity fund that makes control investments in lower middle market companies. Brynwood Partners targets companies operating in the following sectors: (a) consumer products, (b) light manufacturing with low capital intensity and (c) businesses services.

Brynwood Partners is currently managing over $500 million of private equity capital for its limited partners who include U.S. and international pension funds, fund–of–funds, endowments, high net worth family investment offices and financial institutions. For more information on Brynwood Partners, please visit www.brynwoodpartners.com.

SOURCE Brynwood Partners