Venture Capitalists Save Roundy’s for a Rainy Day
Roundy’s Inc. has agreed to be sold to Willis Stein & Partners, a Chicago investment firm. The sales means Roundy’s will almost certainly undergo more ownership changes over time, industry analysts say. Willis Stein, like any other venture capital firm, likely has plans for a big payday down the road.
“I would think they have an exit strategy to occur in five to seven years when the debt is paid down and the company is prosperous and growing,” says John W. Loeb, a principal J. H. Chapman Group LLC in Chicago. The investment-banking firm specializes in food industry mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance.
Moderator Comment: What will this deal mean to the
Roundy’s?
Personnel controversies aside, we have always found members
of the Roundy’s organization to be top-flight. There’s a reason that Roundy’s,
Pick ‘n Save and Copps are either the number one or two operator in the markets
they serve.
Not that we’ve become jaded, but, when was the last time
that you didn’t hear an investment banker say this after making an acquisition?
“It’s a business we expect to hold for a long time.”
– Avy H. Stein, co-founder and managing partner, Willis
Stein