Charlotte-based private equity firm Falfurrias Capital Partners has just finalized a deal to acquire C.F. Sauer Company’s entire food business, including the Duke Mayonnaise brand.
The Richmond-based C.F. Sauer Company was founded in 1887 and now manufactures a broad line of condiments, spices, seasonings and extracts, including Duke’s Mayonnaise, The Spice Hunter, Sauer’s, Gold Medal, and BAMA.
According to DukesMayo.com, C.F. Sauer acquired the Greenville-based mayonnaise company in 1929 after founder Eugenia Duke struggled to keep up with demand.
The Sauer deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions for Falfurrias, a private equity firm co-founded in 2006 by former Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl Jr. and CFO Marc Oken.
“Being from the South, we know the Duke’s brand well and took the next step of learning more about the portfolio,” said Falfurrias Principal Chip Johnson.
“I am so grateful to all of the people of The C.F. Sauer Company who have helped write our company’s tremendous success story over the past 132 years, and I look to the future with great optimism,” said CEO Conrad F. Sauer IV. “We have found the ideal growth partner in Falfurrias Capital Partners, and I look forward to working with Bill and the rest of the team to author the next chapter.”
The transaction is still subject to final shareholder approval, which will take place at The C.F. Sauer Company’s annual meeting on July 15.