Angelo Gordon Completes Sale-Leaseback with Stampede Meat

Angelo Gordon & Co. has acquired the Bridgeview, Ill.-based headquarters and principal processing and distribution facility of Stampede Meat Inc. The $14 million deal was structured as a sale-leaseback, and was closed simultaneously to a recap of Stampede Meat’s balance sheet. Stampede Meat is a portfolio company of Fairmont Capital, PNC Mezzanine Capital and Sankaty Advisors.

 

PRESS RELEASE

Angelo, Gordon & Co.’s (“Angelo Gordon”) dedicated Net Lease Group (“AG Net Lease”) announced today that it acquired the headquarters and principal processing and distribution facility of Stampede Meat, Inc. (“Stampede”), located in Bridgeview, IL (Chicago), for $14 million. The sale-leaseback was a critical component to and closed simultaneously with the recapitalization of Stampede’s balance sheet. Stampede, a leading supplier of value-added beef products, is a portfolio investment of Fairmont Capital, PNC Mezzanine Capital, and Sankaty Advisors since January 2007.

 

Stampede has a blue-chip customer base that includes leading national restaurant chains, quick service restaurants, food service distributors, home delivery networks and grocery retailers. Stampede customizes its protein products to specifications which include portion size, tenderizing, seasoning, marinating, breading, cooking, and packaging.

 

Teddy Kaplan, Managing Director and co-manager of AG Net Lease, commented, “Stampede Meat is among the most respected and reliable suppliers in the food service space. This facility is the newest and largest steak cutting facility in the Chicago area and perhaps the cleanest and most state-of-the-art food processing facility we have seen. We are thrilled to have played such a pivotal role in Stampede’s recapitalization, which has positioned the company to continue to be a leader in its industry even in this difficult economic environment.”

 

“The sale-leaseback was a meaningful component to Stampede’s recapitalization, which was a complex, multi-party transaction on a tight closing schedule,” said Gordon J. Whiting, Founder and Chief Portfolio Manager of AG Net Lease. “We provided a firm financing commitment to Stampede in two weeks and closed all-cash shortly thereafter on the terms originally proposed. We expect to be very active in 2009 in similar recapitalizations with quality companies such as Stampede, where our execution capabilities will be paramount.”

 

Paul Andrews, Managing Director with UHY Advisors, which advised Stampede on the overall recapitalization, said, “Given the breadth of their experience in credit investing, the AG Net Lease team not only provided valuable capital to support Stampede’s recap, but as importantly understood well the multi-faceted dynamic of the transaction giving us the confidence we needed to involve them in this tightly timed process. We look forward to working with them again in the future.”

 

Jones Lang LaSalle represented Stampede on the sale-leaseback.

 

About Angelo, Gordon & Co. and AG Net Lease

 

Angelo, Gordon & Co. was founded in 1988 and has approximately $14 billion under management. Currently, the firm’s investment disciplines encompass four principal areas: (i) distressed debt and leveraged loans, (ii) real estate equity and debt, (iii) private equity and special situations and (iv) multi-strategy. Angelo, Gordon & Co. employs approximately 100 investment professionals and is headquartered in New York, with associated offices in London, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and Amsterdam.

 

AG Net Lease is comprised of a team of experienced professionals committed to providing sale-leaseback financing to financial sponsors and their portfolio companies across a range of industries. AG Net Lease is actively providing sale-leaseback financing and purchasing net leased corporate real estate in the U.S. and abroad in transactions ranging from $5 million to $300 million. We believe AG Net Lease’s unparalleled credit and real estate underwriting expertise, coupled with its unique funding platform, ensures highly competitive pricing and speed of execution to tenants and sponsors. Additional information on AG Net Lease can be found at www.angelogordon.com/netlease.

 

About Fairmont Capital, Inc.

 

Fairmont Capital, Inc. is a private investment company whose primary focus is the acquisition of seasoned operating companies. Fairmont seeks those situations in which long-term capital appreciation can be achieved through the combination of creative management, new strategies and quality corporate assets. Since 1986, Fairmont Capital and its affiliates have completed acquisitions in various consumer products, food and service industries to build portfolio companies. Consumer industries that Fairmont Capital has invested in include furniture, apparel, catalog companies, auction houses, restaurants and food processing.

 

About PNC Mezzanine Capital

 

PNC Mezzanine Capital is focused on financing buyouts, recapitalizations and consolidation strategies in companies in a wide range of industries, including business services, niche manufacturing and value-added distribution. Since 1989, PNC Mezzanine Capital has been a stable, thoughtful mezzanine partner for sponsor groups, entrepreneurs and management teams. Their approach has been to underwrite the long-term business strategy of their portfolio companies allowing them to respond constructively to the opportunities and challenges of the changing business environment. As a result, PNC Mezzanine Capital has made 72 investments in 48 companies, in support of 113 transactions. They seek to invest $10 million to $35 million in subordinated debt and equity in companies with strong management teams, proven business models and stable cash flows with a clear avenue for growth, and can lead transactions of up to $45 million.

 

About Sankaty Advisors

 

Sankaty Advisors, LLC, the credit affiliate of Bain Capital, LLC, is one of the nation’s leading private managers of fixed income and credit instruments. With over $24 billion in committed capital, Sankaty invests in a wide variety of securities and investments, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, distressed/stressed debt, mezzanine debt, structured products and equities. Sankaty Advisors has the ability to invest in a company’s capital structure at every level, from secured debt to equity, and can also provide capital to growing companies with unique financing needs. Sankaty Advisors has a world-class team of 71 investment professionals in Boston, Chicago and London with extensive experience analyzing and managing debt investments across a variety of sectors and industries. These investment professionals are supported by over 60 finance, operations and compliance professionals.

 

About Stampede Meat

 

Stampede Meat is a leading supplier of value-added beef products for a nationwide blue-chip customer base that includes leading national restaurant chains, quick service restaurants, food service distributors, home delivery networks and grocery retailers. Stampede customizes its protein products to specifications which include portion size, tenderizing, seasoning, marinating, breading, cooking, and packaging. Since 1995, Stampede has achieved tremendous growth through its comprehensive focus on customer service, high quality product offerings, food safety, and state-of-the-art production capabilities. To learn more about Stampede Meat visit www.StampedeMeat.com.