RICHMOND, VA. – Harris Williams, a global investment bank specializing in merger and acquisition advisory services, announced on March 28 that it helped meat snack company Western Smokehouse Partners on its sale to AUA Private Equity Partners LLC.

“The Western Smokehouse Partners team has done a tremendous job expanding the meat snack category,” said Brant Wilczek, director at Harris Williams. “The company’s highly differentiated manufacturing capabilities and demonstrated commitment to investing in growth positions it as the go-to partner to the fastest growing brands in the sector.”

The seller of Western Smokehouse Partners was Monogram Capital Partners, which was part of its portfolio. No financial terms were disclosed.

"We are thankful to Monogram / Charis for helping us grow to this point and very excited about the next wave of growth with AUA," Matt Borman, chief executive officer of Western Smokehouse Partners said in an email to MEAT+POULTRY. "One of the reasons we selected AUA is because they believed in the management team’s ability to continue to drive growth and saw the vision of the future very similar to ours."

Western co-manufactures privately labeled and branded meat snacks for various brands nationwide. The company operates four facilities in Illinois, Missouri and a new plant that will open soon in Iowa. 

“As deeply trusted advisors, the Harris Williams team truly understood this space and the differentiation of Western Smokehouse Partners’ business, and provided excellent strategic advice throughout the process to ensure that our management team found the best possible partner for the company’s next stage of growth,” said Jared Stein, co-founder of Monogram Capital Partners and chairman of Western Smokehouse Partners board.

Several changes have occurred to Western in recent years. The company acquired Thrushwood Farms Quality Meats in early 2020.  

By the end of 2021, Western purchased another 45,000-square-foot facility in Springfield, Ill. In June 2022, the company added about 30% capacity to its plant in Greentop, Mo.

Last summer, Western also finished a contract on a 100,000-square-foot building in Burlington, Iowa. The facility is scheduled to be fitted for co-manufacturing by May 2023.

AUA Private Equity, based in West Palm Beach, Fla., provides capital to companies in consumer products and services with a focus on family-owned businesses, the company said.