Barings Supports Graham Partners' Investment in Woodland Foods

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Barings, one of the world's leading investment managers, today announced it served as lead agent for a senior secured facility to support private investment firm Graham Partners' investment in Woodland Foods, LLC. Headquartered in Waukegan, IL, Woodland Foods is an established leader in supplying specialty food ingredients and innovative culinary products to the food service, industrial, and retail sectors for more than 30 years.

"Woodland Foods provides Graham Partners with a unique opportunity to invest in a company with a well-established supply chain across five continents and long-term relationships with marquee customers across multiple channels of the food business," said Andrew Snyder, Managing Principal at Graham Partners. "We are glad to have the support of Barings, which has capacity to finance Woodland's future growth initiatives and has been a valued partner to other Graham portfolio companies."

"Barings deeply values our relationship with Graham Partners and appreciates the opportunity to support the investment in Woodland Foods," said Scott Chappell, Managing Director in Barings' North American Private Finance Group. "Woodland Foods maintains a loyal client base through its well-established global supply chain and we are confident that Graham's deep experience across the food industry will help accelerate Woodland's growth trajectory."

About Woodland Foods
Woodland Foods, headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois, is a provider of plant-based specialty ingredients, including herbs and spices, rice and grains, and other specialty products such as truffles, chiles, and curries. The company sells into foodservice, retail, industrial, and e-commerce channels across North America. It leverages a robust global ingredient procurement network and strong in-house R&D, processing, quality assurance, and packaging capabilities to bring the flavors of the world to your table. For more information, please visit www.woodlandfoods.com.

About Graham Partners
Graham Partners is a private investment firm focused on investing in technology-driven companies that are spurring innovation in advanced manufacturing, resulting in product substitutions, raw materials conversions, and disruptions to traditional end markets. Graham Partners can offer control or minority capital solutions and typically targets companies with EBITDA up to $50 million. Since the firm's founding in 1988 by Steven Graham, Graham Partners has closed over 140 acquisitions, joint ventures, financings, and divestitures. The committed capital raised since inception through the Graham Partners funds together with Graham-led co-investments totals approximately $3.6 billion, which differs from Regulatory Assets Under Management. Investors include high-net-worth individuals, college and university endowments, foundations, public and private pension plans, funds-of-funds, and other institutional investors. Based in suburban Philadelphia, the firm has access to extensive operating resources and industrial expertise and is a member of The Graham Group, an alliance of independent operating businesses, investment firms and philanthropic entities, which all share in the common legacy of entrepreneur Donald Graham. For more information, please visit www.grahampartners.net.

About Barings
Barings is a $391+ billion* global investment manager sourcing differentiated opportunities and building long-term portfolios across public and private fixed income, real estate, and specialist equity markets. With investment professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the firm, a subsidiary of MassMutual, aims to serve its clients, communities and employees, and is committed to sustainable practices and responsible investment. Learn more at www.barings.com.

*Assets under management as of December 31, 2021

Contact

Cheryl Krauss, Barings, 980-417-5858, [email protected]

22-2007676

SOURCE Barings