MINNEAPOLIS — General Mills Inc. on June 22 finalized its acquisition of TNT Crust LLC from an affiliate of private equity firm Peak Rock Capital, Austin, Texas. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in St. Charles, Mo., TNT Crust is a manufacturer of frozen pizza crusts for regional and national pizza chains, foodservice distributors and retailers. The business had approximately $100 million in sales in 2021.
When the transaction was first announced in mid-May, Shawn O’Grady, group president of North America foodservice for General Mills, said the acquisition would advance the company’s “accelerate” strategy and build on its strong position in the fast-growing away-from-home frozen baked goods category. He also added that TNT would add scale in a category that is “on trend with consumers and poised for continued rapid growth.”
Since acquiring TNT in a corporate carve-out from Tyson Foods in late 2018, Peak Rock has supported the company's strategic growth and operational initiatives, including increasing capacity at its facilities in Green Bay, Wis., and opening a new production facility in St. Charles. Peak Rock also supported the launch of a better-for-you product line to meet growing demand within its end markets.
“Peak Rock has played a critical role in supporting the company’s ambitious growth plans through investments in the company’s people, innovation capabilities and production capacity,” said Kyle Heberle, chief executive officer of TNT.
“We are very proud of the success that TNT has achieved under our ownership,” said Robert Pistilli, managing director of Peak Rock. “The company has undergone transformational growth, including the opening of a new manufacturing facility, which is expected to create more than 100 new jobs, and the development of an industry leading better-for-you plant within a plant. We look forward to seeing the company’s continued success under General Mills."
Evercore served as financial adviser, Goldman Sachs was co-adviser, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as the legal adviser to the company on the transaction.