Irish Dairy Board

Situation

Thiel Cheese & Ingredients, LLC (“Thiel“ or the Company), headquartered in Hilbert, Wisconsin, is a leading custom formulator and manufacturer of process cheese and cheese-based ingredient solutions to the food ingredient and food service marketplace.

Thiel’s majority owner was Facilitator Capital Funds Partners (“FCF Partners”), a private equity fund based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that focuses on lower-middle market transactions throughout the Midwest US.

FCF Partners had engaged an investment banker to pursue the sale of Thiel.

The Irish Dairy Board (“IDB”), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a commercial cooperative owned by Irish dairy companies, dairy processing cooperatives, and Irish dairy farmers.

Employs approximately 3,700 people globally and has consolidated annual revenues of approximately €2 billion.

IDB’s Trading & Ingredients division exports Irish dairy ingredients to over 80 countries.

Solution

Amherst was engaged by IDB’s Trading & Ingredients division to conduct a buy-side search to identify potential US-based acquisition targets within the cheese ingredients industry.

Results

Prior to the launch of the transaction marketing effort by FCF/Thiel’s investment banker, Amherst identified Thiel as an acquisition candidate that possessed all the attributes that IDB was seeking.

Amherst acted as the exclusive financial advisor to IDB and provided the following services, among others:

Conducted extensive financial modeling to determine a valuation of Thiel and advised IDB on the offer amount in its letter of intent.

Advised IDB throughout the due diligence process and negotiation of the purchase agreement terms and conditions.