Popular Salad Dressing & Dip Brands Sold To Greenwich Investment Firm

GREENWICH, CT — Greenwich-based private equity firm Brynwood Partners announced on Thursday that its newly-formed portfolio company, West Madison Foods, has agreed to acquire the Marie's salad dressing brand and the Dean's Dip business from Ventura Foods, LLC.

Citing a person familiar with the transaction, the deal will be worth approximately $200 million and is expected to be finalized by the end of July, Greenwich Time reported.

The transaction includes the Thornton, Ill., factory where the products are manufactured. According to the announcement, there are approximately 84 full-time employees at the factory.

"Dean's and Marie's are extraordinary brands, and we are delighted to lead these brands into their next phase of growth and expansion. We look forward to partnering with the team in Thornton to enhance manufacturing and bring more products and new innovations to market," said Henk Hartong III, Chairman and CEO of Brynwood Partners, in a news release. "We thank the Ventura Foods team for being a great partner in the transaction."

Marie's features dozens of salad dressings, dips and spreads. Products like blue cheese, caesar, ranch and coleslaw salad dressings are top sellers in the category, Brynwood noted in a news release.

Dean's Dip features an array of dairy dips ranging from its popular and classic French onion, ranch and guacamole flavors, to tangy buffalo wing, crispy deep-fried pickle and classic pepperoni pizza flavors.

West Madison Foods increases the total Brynwood manufacturing network to 17 facilities, approximately 4,700 employees and more than $2.6 billion in annual sales, Brynwood noted.

The Brynwood Partners portfolio now includes Harvest Hill Beverage Company, Carolina Beverage Group, Hometown Food Company, Buitoni Food Company and Great Kitchens Food Company, Brynwood said.

Headquartered on Sound Shore Drive in Greenwich, Brynwod Partners targets non-core brands and companies operating in the consumer sector.

The firm was founded in 1984, and currently manages more than $1 billion of private equity capital for its limited partners.

Read more on the transaction.

Read more from Greenwich Time.