Private equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners has acquired Petoskey, Michigan-based Kilwins Quality Confections, Inc., a leading franchisor, retailer, manufacturer and distributor of premium quality chocolate, ice cream and confectionary products. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 1947, Kilwins currently operates over 150 locations across 25 states, the majority of which are franchised operations. LLCP is a leading private equity investor in the franchising and multi-unit sector.
Varnum represented Kilwins in all aspects of the transaction, including negotiating the acquisition agreement and all other legal documents. Mike Wooldridge and Chris George led the M&A team which included Amy Yan (Corporate and M&A), Steve Morren (Real Estate), Shawn Strand (Tax), Zach Meyer and Tim Gordon (Anti-Trust), John Arendshorst (Employee Benefits), and Chris Caldwell (Estate Planning).
“This was a complex and complicated transaction for us,” said Kilwins owner Don McCarty. “Mike, Chris and the Varnum team had the depth, breadth, expertise, comprehensive understanding, organizational capacity and coordination to efficiently and effectively cover all aspects for us on our time schedule. Plus, all of them are genuinely nice folks to work with. We could not be more satisfied.”