Sterling Foods Adds On

Sterling Foods, a portfolio company of Austin Ventures and TGF Management, have acquired Caravan Trading Co., a Union City, Calif.-based bakery for the wholesale, military, food service and retail industries. No financial terms were disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE

Sterling Foods II, Inc. (“Sterling Foods”), a portfolio company of TGF Management Corp. (“TGFM”) and Austin Ventures (“AV”), today announced Sterling Foods’ acquisition of Caravan Trading Company (“Caravan”). The financial terms were undisclosed.

Founded in 1975, Caravan is a family owned and operated wholesale bakery that produces baked goods for the wholesale, military, food service, and retail industries. Operating out of two production facilities in Union City, California, Caravan is one of the largest bagel producing companies on the West Coast and serves some of the most respected retailers and manufacturers in the food industry. The company recently expanded its production capacity to serve the rapidly growing ‘thin’ (low calorie) segment of the baked goods market. Caravan also produces other baked goods products such as frozen Danishes, croissants, puff dough, sweet goods, pound/coffee cakes, muffins, cinnamon rolls, scones, pita bread, specialty breads, Hispanic pastries/pan dulce, Mexican breads, and bagel sandwiches.

Founded in 1971, Sterling is a leading supplier of baked goods, as well as a provider of gourmet bakery items to the food service, military, and retail industries. Based in San Antonio, Texas, Sterling’s products include a wide variety of specialty and gourmet baked products such as brownies, cakes, cookies, snack breads, soft pretzels, muffins, scones, pizza crusts, and biscuits. Sterling is the largest supplier of shelf stable bakery products to the military and also provides products to the K – 12 educational market, weight management industry, and other specialty commercial markets. Its products are sold in nationally recognized restaurant chains, leading supermarkets, and club stores.

Austin, Texas-based, TGF Management Corp. is one of the oldest and most active private equity firms in the Southwest, focusing on partnering with management teams and operational executives in the acquisition of middle market companies. Since 1992, TGFM has invested in over 40 companies with combined revenue in excess of $3.5 billion. TGFM currently manages in excess of $700 million on behalf of the Texas Growth Fund, and its latest private equity fund, Southwest Opportunity Partners, L.P. For further information, call 512-322-3100 or visit TGFM’s website at www.tgfmanagement.com.

Austin Ventures has worked with talented entrepreneurs and executives to build valuable companies for nearly 25 years. With $3.9 billion under management, AV is the most active venture capital and growth equity firm in Texas and one of the most established in the nation. With a focus on business services, information services, integrated media, computer and communications hardware, enterprise software, and special situations, AV invests at all stages of company development, from $100,000 “planned experiments” in early stage ideas to $100+ million investments in expansion rounds, minority recapitalizations, and buyouts of middle-market growth companies. Visit www.austinventures.com for more information.