Altamont Capital Partners, a middle market private equity firm focused on making long term investments, today announced that its portfolio company, Colorado Boxed Beef, a leading national provider of protein products, has merged with Quirch Foods, creating a leading U.S. distributor and exporter of protein and ethnic food products. Altamont originally invested in CBBC in 2017 and will retain an equity stake.

Founded in 1975, CBBC began as a protein supplier for the southeastern region of the U.S. and has since grown to become one of the leading suppliers of protein products across the country. With more than 1.4 million square feet of distribution space, CBBC has both a national and international footprint with facilities in Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. With Altamont's support, the Company has significantly expanded its product offering and reach through both organic growth and complementary acquisitions.

As part of the transaction, Frank Grande, President and CEO of Quirch Foods, will lead the combined company. John Rattigan Jr., President and CEO of CBBC, has been named Chief Growth, Strategy, and M&A Officer. Grande and Rattigan will work alongside the leadership teams of their operating companies, including Quirch Foods, Colorado Boxed Beef, Pacific Foods Distributors (PFD Opco), E.J. Foods Opco, Butts Foods, Prefco, Metro Webb Opco, The Great Fish Co./Riptide Foods, Helmsman Freight Solutions, Phoenix Logistics & Cold Storage and IQ Foods.

"CBBC has consistently built on its long history of providing great products and service to its valued customers," said Randall Eason, a Managing Director at Altamont. "We are proud of what we have accomplished together over the course of our partnership and are confident that CBBC is well-positioned for continued success as the Company enters this next chapter of growth."

Chase Beeler, a Vice President at Altamont, added, "We saw an opportunity to partner with a strong team and impressive company and support them as they expanded their reach into new markets and diversified their product offering. It has been a privilege to work with John and the rest of the CBBC management team."

"Altamont's partnership has been instrumental in our success over the past few years," said Rattigan. "We look forward to continuing this momentum and believe that this merger is an excellent outcome for both companies. Quirch Foods, backed by Palladium Equity Partners, is committed to creating the leading protein portfolio in the industry and we are excited to be part of this growth. Our leadership team remains in place and we will continue to offer our combined customers exceptional service while enhancing our product offering."

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Ropes & Gray served as legal counsel to Altamont. Jefferies served as exclusive financial advisor to CBBC and Shuffield Lowman served as legal counsel.

Source: Altamont Capital Partners