Goode Partners makes 3.6x its money with Dave’s Killer Bread sale

Goode Partners LLC has exited Dave’s Killer Bread after nearly three years, generating a 3.6x return on its invested capital and a 60 percent IRR, according to the firm.

The a consumer-focused private equity firm closed the sale of Dave’s to Flowers Foods Inc on September 12. The deal was valued at $275 million, the New York-based firm said in a statement.

Dave’s, which has its “bread quarters” in Milwaukie, Oregon, offers 17 varieties of organic bread, including Rockin’ Rye, Blues Bread and White Bread Done Right. The company said its breads do not contain GMOs, high fructose corn syrup, artificial preservatives or artificial ingredients.

Goode Partners invested in Dave’s in December 2012. It’s unclear how much the PE firm paid for Dave’s or the size of its stake. Goode, which takes both minority and majority positions, typically invests between $10 million to $30 million equity per deal, the firm’s website said. Goode could not immediately be reached for comment.

The firm used its second fund, Goode Partners Consumer Fund II LP, to invest in Dave’s.

Fund II also invested in coffee retailer La Colombe Torrefaction in August 2014. Last month, the firm sold Colombe to Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder of yogurt company Chobani for an undisclosed sum. Goode Partners made 2x its money and the deal produced a roughly 188 percent IRR, according to a company statement.

Goode Partners has not disclosed the size of Fund II. It set a target of $300 million for the fund in 2013, Buyouts has reported.

Good Partners managed about $366 million of client assets on a discretionary basis as of December 31, according to regulatory filings. Its first fund closed on $225 million in 2007 and produced an IRR of 7.65 percent as of December 31, according to data from the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board, an LP in the fund.

Executives for Goode Partners could not be reached for comment.

Photo courtesy of Dave’s Killer Bread