Sauer is known in Richmond for the longtime light-up ‘Vanilla’ sign atop its Broad Street factory. (Courtesy Sauer Brands)
Long-running Richmond-based spice and condiment maker Sauer Brands is set to change hands once again.
The company, which has made spices, extracts, and other products since its founding in Richmond in 1887, will be sold from one private equity firm to another in a deal announced this week.
The buyer is Boston-based Advent International, which will purchase the nearly 140-year-old company from Charlotte-based Falfurrias Capital Partners.
Falfurrias bought Sauer, then known as the C.F. Sauer Co., in 2019. That deal gave Falfurrias 100% control of Sauer and marked the first time in Sauer’s history that it wasn’t owned by a member of the Sauer family.
Terms of Advent’s pending acquisition were not disclosed, though Bloomberg reported the deal values Sauer Brands at about $1.5 billion. Falfurrias paid an estimate $300 million for Sauer in 2019, according to multiple media reports.
Sauer’s landmark spice factory at 2000 W. Broad St., as seen years ago when it was under renovations. (BizSense file photo)
An Advent representative declined to comment on what the deal will mean for Sauer’s remaining Richmond operations, which include spice manufacturing at its landmark factory at 2000 W. Broad St. and a nearby facility at 1700 W. Broad St.
Those two facilities are leased by Sauer Brands from Sauer Properties, which remains owned and operated by descendants of C.F. Sauer Co. founder Conrad Sauer.
Sauer Brands has remained headquartered in Richmond despite its outside ownership and has approximately 1,000 employees companywide, according to its website. That includes 125 employees at its Richmond plant and 75 at its Richmond headquarters office. The rest are spread between facilities in Kansas, South Carolina and California that are currently owned by Falfurrias.
Sauer had 860 employees at the time of the Falfurrias deal nearly six years ago.
Sauer is currently led by CEO Bill Lovette, a food industry veteran who was hired by Falfurrias specifically for that role in 2019. It’s unclear whether he’ll continue on under Advent’s ownership.
Advent, like Falfurrias, appears keenly attracted to Sauer’s Duke’s Mayonnaise product, long a staple in the South but that has grown in popularity in recent years and was said to be Sauer’s biggest revenue source and fastest-growing brand.
University of Minnesota head football coach P.J. Fleck gets doused in Duke’s at last week’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl. (Courtesy Duke’s Mayo Bowl)
Advent’s press release mentions Duke’s multiple times and said Sauer is “best known for Duke’s Mayo, a beloved mayonnaise brand with a rich history dating back to its founding in 1917. Today, Duke’s is the fastest growing scaled player in the mayo category…” the company said.
Duke’s has also continued to increase its visibility in recent years, including as the title sponsor of a college football game in which the winning coach gets a mayonnaise bath rather than the traditional Gatorade dousing. The latest installment of that bowl game was held last week between Virginia Tech and the University of Minnesota.
In a prepared statement, Advent managing partner Tricia Glynn said, “With a more than 135-year history, Sauer Brands has established itself as a standout player in the highly attractive condiments and seasonings categories. Despite its long history, we believe that the Company is still in the early innings of growth.”
Sauer’s other brands include Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa, Kernel Season’s and Sauer-branded spices, extracts and sauces.
Sauer is represented in the Advent deal by financial advisors Morgan Stanley and William Blair & Co. Richmond law firm McGuireWoods is legal counsel to both Sauer and Falfurrias in the deal. Advent is represented by financial advisor Centerview Partners and legal counsel Weil, Gotshal & Manges.
Wow! A 500% increase in valuation in 6 years? Somebody is doing something right.