Wind Point Acquires Gehl Foods

Wind Point Partners today announced it has acquired Gehl Foods.  Headquartered in Germantown, Wisconsin, Gehl Foods is a leading manufacturer of shelf-stable, dairy-based products including cheese sauces, puddings, yogurt and dairy-based nutritional beverages.  The Company’s products are sold through both foodservice and retail channels.

Wind Point is partnering with Eric Beringause, who is joining as Gehl Foods’ CEO. Eric, who most recently served as CEO of Advanced Refreshment, a $250 million private equity-owned business, has 30 years of experience in consumer packaged goods. Eric was previously CEO of Sturm Foods, a $350 million business, and President of Alcoa Consumer Products, a $1.5 billion P&L responsibility.

“I’m very excited to be joining the team at Gehl Foods,” commented Beringause. “Under the leadership of previous CEO Katherine Gehl and her team, Gehl Foods has an exceptional track record of food safety and manufacturing high quality products. The facilities in Germantown and West Bend have been well-invested and maintained and serve as a strong foundation for continued success. I look forward to working with the entire team at Gehl Foods to continue the tradition of providing customers with consistently high quality products.”

David Stott, a principal at Wind Point stated, “Eric shares our depth of experience with food investments and has an impressive track record of driving growth. We look forward to partnering with Eric to grow Gehl Foods by developing new customer relationships, expanding distribution, and broadening our product and service offering.”

GE Antares Capital and Ares Capital Corporation provided senior debt financing and LStar Capital provided junior debt financing. Reed Smith LLC acted as legal advisor to Wind Point.