Blue River Advises Empire Equipment Company on Acquisition of Empire Bakery Equipment

September 12, 2023 – Blue River Financial Group has advised Empire Equipment Company, a leading value-added wholesale distributor of equipment, parts, and services to the foodservice industry, and portfolio company of PNC Riverarch Capital, on the recent acquisition of Empire Bakery Equipment. The acquisition further expands Empire’s product offering, geography, and logistics network, supporting their continued strategic focus on expanding product lines, adding sales resources, and opening new locations throughout the U.S.

Empire Equipment Company is headquartered in Goldsboro, NC and has regional office and warehouse locations in Laurel, MD, Atlanta, GA and Lakeland, FL. The group represents leading manufacturers such as True, Scotsman, Ice-O-Matic, Blendtec, Cornelius, DADE, Dispense-Rite, Global Refrigerator, Infrico, Kloppenberg, Kelvinator Commercial, Midea, Serv-Ware, and many others. Empire’s comprehensive range of equipment includes ice machines, gas cooking equipment, refrigeration equipment, water treatment systems, walk-ins, microwaves, and more.

PNC Riverarch Capital is a Pittsburgh, PA based middle-market private equity firm, founded in 2011. Riverarch is the private equity affiliate of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., one of the largest diversified financial institutions in the United States. PNC Riverarch invests in market-leading companies where it can partner with management to accelerate growth and has completed more than 100 platform and add-on acquisitions to date.

Empire Bakery Equipment is a value-added solutions provider for all facets of commercial baking equipment, aftermarket parts and smallware accessories in the retail, wholesale and in-store bakeries, bagel shops, pizzerias and foodservice industries. Empire Bakery Equipment has provided market leading wholesale distribution capabilities since 1978.

“We are extremely excited to be partnering with the very talented team at Empire Bakery Equipment to continue our core tradition of providing exceptional customer service and leading distribution capabilities to our loyal and expanding customer network. This transaction expands our product offering and adds scale in the Northeast region and allows both Empire Group and Empire Bakery Equipment to better serve our partners across the US” said Jim Kirkland, CEO of Empire Group.

Claudio Zarate, Empire Bakery Equipment President, said, “Our experience in dealing with the management team at Empire has been outstanding; I have learned that we have similar values and cultures, which will make this transition seamless”.

“It was our pleasure working with the leadership of the Empire Equipment / PNC Riverarch teams on this transaction. For Empire Equipment, this partnership represents a meaningful expansion into a key geographic location and expands their product offerings and distribution locations into the commercial foodservice and bakery space. We’re excited for the successes in store for the Empire Equipment and Empire Bakery teams!” said Rich Phillips, Managing Director with Blue River.

Lewis VanLandingham, Vice President at Blue River, said, “We take pride in assisting our clients in finding well-aligned opportunities and in this case, it was clear that these two companies belonged together. Both have a passion for serving their customers with the highest level of integrity and a dedication to delivering a world-class customer experience. Of course, there’s also the fact that they are both named Empire! It took almost a year and a half from when we first reached out until closing, but we are thrilled to have been a part of connecting these two companies and we look forward to seeing the future they create together.”

Contact

Sara Clevenger
Principal
sclevenger@goblueriver.com

About Blue River

Blue River Financial Group is a middle market merger and acquisition advisory firm. We assist corporations, private equity groups and individuals in the sale and acquisition of businesses, and have completed assignments in multiple business segments. With over 20 years of experience spanning across 50 global industries, Blue River provides a suite of services to middle market clients including corporate development, private equity support, valuations and transaction consulting, placing a premium on relationship-centered transaction counsel and client focus.

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