Incline acquires Starwest Botanicals

Pittsburgh’s Incline Equity Partners has acquired Starwest Botanicals, a founder-owned distributor of high-quality organic botanicals, herbs and spices.

PRESS RELEASE

Incline Equity Partners (“Incline”), a Pittsburgh-based private equity firm, is pleased to announce that it has acquired Starwest Botanicals (“Starwest” or the “Company”), a value-added distributor of high-quality organic botanicals, herbs and spices to specialty retailers, manufacturers and e-commerce sellers.

Headquartered in Sacramento, CA, Starwest is uniquely positioned as a full-service provider due to its extensive global supplier network, international organic import expertise, in-house quality control testing and customizable processing and packaging capabilities. The Company serves as a one-stop-shop solution to a diversified base of more than 10,000 customers across over 3,000 SKUs.

“Incline has an impressive track record of successfully partnering with founder-owned distribution businesses,” said Van Joerger, Founder of Starwest.  “With their expertise, we will accelerate growth through strategic investments in marketing and channel management, accretive acquisitions and infrastructure and technology that will improve operational performance.”

“Starwest has a strong customer value proposition from their global supply chain, wide breadth of products and strong processing and QC capabilities,” said Justin Bertram, Senior Partner with Incline.  “Their impressive track record of long-term, profitable growth is driven from their diversified and fragmented customer base that caters to consumer staple end markets.  We are excited to partner with Van and the management team to support the next phase of growth.”

About Incline Equity Partners:
Incline Equity Partners, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a private equity firm investing in manufacturing, distribution and business services companies. Incline is generally seeking growing companies with enterprise values of $25 – $450 million.  Incline’s typical investment types are ownership transitions for privately held businesses, buyouts and corporate divestitures within the U.S. and Canada.

Disclaimer:
Incline Management, L.P. (“IMLP”) is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.  Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training.  IMLP provides investment advisory services only to privately offered funds.  IMLP does not solicit or make its services available to the public or other advisory clients. This press release is intended solely to provide information regarding Incline’s potential capabilities for prospective portfolio companies, and is not an offer to sell to any person, or a solicitation from any person of an offer to buy, any securities.  The statements contained herein are not statements of any IMLP client fund or investor and do not describe any experience with or endorsement of IMLP as an investment adviser by any such client or investor.