• NCN News for June 23, 2011

Transaction Headlines
Cargill Announces Joint Venture in Sugar, Ethanol, and Bioelectricity
Skin Cancer Scanning Company Invests in Pomega Inc.
TSG Acquires a Stake in Indie Coffee Company
Sun-Rype Expands Fruit Processing Capacity
UNFI Divests Non-Foods Business Lines
Roark Acquires Corner Bakery Café and Il Fornaio
Fireman Capital Partners Invests in Newton Running
ConAgra Buys Marie Callender's Trademarks
Dr. Oz’s Sharecare Gets Financing from New Evolution Ventures
Blue Gold Beverages Acquires Epic Nutrition Inc.
Nestle Expands Presence in Serbia
Provexis Acquires Sports Nutrition Company

Cargill Announces JV in Sugar, Ethanol and Bioelectricity
Cargill (Minneapolis) and the USJ Group of Brazil have agreed to a 50-50 joint venture in the sugar, ethanol, and bioelectricity segment. The new company will include assets owned by the USJ Group in the state of Goiás and sugarcane supply agreements with local producers. Part of Cargill’s capital investment will go to building and upgrading mill assets. Although only one mill will be part of the joint venture, USJ’s two mills will have a joint processing capacity of 7.5 million metric tons of sugarcane per year. In addition to sugar and ethanol, they will produce 120 MWH of electricity from sugarcane bagasse—one third to be supplied to the mills and the rest to the public grid. “Our goal in Goiás has always been to transform that region into a sugarcane based sustainable food and renewable energy production hub, in addition to developing a local supply chain,” said Hermínio Ometto Neto, president of the USJ Group.

Skin Cancer Scanning Company Invests in Pomega Inc.
mBeach Software Inc. (MBHS, Tel Aviv, Israel), the holding company for Skin Cancer Scanning Ltd. (SCS), has completed a memorandum of understanding to acquire 51% of Pomega Inc. (San Anselmo, Calif.), a company specializing in therapeutic skin care products made using proprietary omega 5 oil technology and sold under the Pomega5 brand. MBHS will invest no less than $2.55 million and issue new MBHS shares to Pomega shareholders in exchange for a portion of their shares in Pomega. The merged group would conduct clinical trials in omega 5 CLA (sourced from pomegranate seed oil) and develop products for the “aesthetic medicine” industry. Pomegranate seed oil contains up to 80% punicic acid and has been reported to have medicinal properties including anti-carcinogenic activity against breast cancer and skin cancer, according to mBeach.

TSG Acquires a Stake in Indie Coffee Company
TSG Consumer Partners has reportedly acquired a stake in Stumptown Coffee, a pioneer of the independent coffee industry’s so-called “third wave” purist movement. Stumptown has outlets in Portland, Seattle and New York. News reports suggest TSG may be considering a roll up of independent coffee outfits for sale to a large strategic buyer. TSG’s portfolio companies have included Terra Chips, Pureology and Smart Balance. TSG paid about $40 million for a 30% stake in Vitaminwater (Energy Brands) in 2003, before selling it three years later for $677 million to Tata Group of India; the beverage company was subsequently acquired by Coca Cola for $4.1 billion.

Sun-Rype Expands Fruit Processing Capacity
Publicly traded Sun-Rype Products Ltd. (Kelowna, B.C.) has agreed to acquire the business and assets of Naumes Concentrates Inc. (Wapato, Wash.). Naumes has supplied apple and other juice concentrates to Sun-Rype for several years. The facility is organic and kosher certified and generates annual sales of approximately $11 million. The deal follows Sun-Rype’s recent acquisition of Yakama Juice: "We believe this expansion in our overall fruit processing will enable Sun-Rype to optimize our manufacturing costs and partially mitigate the impact of global fruit concentrate fluctuations," stated Dave McAnerney, president and CEO of Sun-Rype.

UNFI Divests Non-Foods Business Lines
United Natural Foods Inc. (Providence, R.I.), the largest distributor to the natural, organic and specialty food industry, has signed an asset purchase agreement with L&R Distributors Inc., a national distributor of non-food products and general merchandise. UNFI said divesting its non-food and general merchandise lines (cosmetics, seasonal products, conventional health & beauty products and hard goods) would allow it to concentrate on its core business. UNFI’s net sales for the first nine months of fiscal 2011 totaled $3.37 billion, a 21.8% increase over the prior fiscal year comparable period.

Roark Acquires Corner Bakery Café and Il Fornaio
Roark Capital Group (Atlanta) has acquired Il Fornaio America Corporation, the owner of Corner Bakery Café (Dallas) and Il Fornaio Restaurants and Bakeries (Corte Madera, Calif.). Corner Bakery Café operates 119 locations nationwide. Il Fornaio has 22 Italian restaurants averaging over $5 million in annual sales per restaurant. Roark has invested in 20 franchise businesses in 50 states and 43 countries. Corner Bakery and Il Fornaio will be Roark’s 10th restaurant investment. Also in Roark’s franchise and brand management portfolio is weight control and nutrition company Atkins Nutritionals.

Fireman Capital Partners Invests in Newton Running
Fireman Capital Partners (Boston), led by Paul Fireman, founding CEO of Reebok International, has announced a significant investment in Newton Running Co. (Boulder, Colo.). Newton Running owns patented technology designed to allow runners to run as if they were barefoot, landing on their midfoot/forefoot instead of on their heels. “This is the most natural way to run, increasing running efficiency and decreasing impact stress on the body,” said Newton Running’s CEO Jerry Lee. Fireman Capital’s portfolio includes Evolution Fresh juice company, an investment co-managed by Partner Stacy Madison, the founder of Stacy's Pita Chip Company. Fireman sold Reebok International to Adidas for $3.6 billion in 2006.

ConAgra Buys Marie Callender's Trademarks
After more than tripling the brand’s sales in the last decade as a long-term licensee, ConAgra Foods said it has acquired Marie Callender's trademarks in a deal worth $57.5 million. The announcement came a day after Marie Callender's Pie Shops' owner, restaurant chain Perkins & Marie Callender's, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Last year, ConAgra obtained the license for frozen desserts under the Marie Callender's brand through the acquisition of pie maker American Pie. In 1994, ConAgra acquired a license to sell Marie Callender's frozen meals and pot pies. "Owning the trademark not only allows for greater control of the brand but gives us the added flexibility to further grow the Marie Callender's brand," said André Hawaux, president of ConAgra's consumer foods division. Sales of Marie Callender's products amount to $800 million.

Sharecare Gets Financing from New Evolution Ventures
New Evolution Ventures (NeV), a global private equity firm focused on the health, wellness and fitness industries, has made an equity investment in Sharecare (Atlanta, Ga.), joining founding partners Jeff Arnold, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Harpo Studios, Discovery Communications, Sony Pictures Television and HSW International. In addition to the investment, Sharecare will acquire technology rights to dotFIT, an online nutrition, exercise and weight management application that also powers “Dr.Oz’s Move It and Lose It” weight loss program. Sharecare will also own all content assets from the Health & Fitness Provider Network. Mark Mastrov, co-founder and chairman of NeV, joins the Sharecare board of directors. Mastrov founded 24-Hour Fitness Worldwide in 1983, which he grew to revenues in excess of $1.5 billion at the time of its sale in 2005.

Blue Gold Beverages Acquires Epic Nutrition Inc.
Blue Gold Beverages Inc. (Houston) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Epic Nutrition Inc. (Jupiter, Fla.), the manufacturer and distributor of Quick NRG Energy Shot, Goodnight sleep and relaxation supplement, NRG protein energy shot and COLDsense natural cold and flu remedy. "Epic Nutrition, Inc. is a company I know very well and has developed several new proprietary products that we intend to also market through the Canadian distribution channels already acquired by Blue Gold Beverages from Epic Canada,” said Larry Latowsky, the recently appointed Chairman of the Board of Blue Gold Beverages. The company expects revenues to reach in excess of $20 million by the end of 2012.

Nestlé Expands Presence in Serbia
Nestlé announced it has agreed to acquire the business of Centroproizvod A.d. Company, a leading food and beverage producer in Serbia, including its iconic C brand and a factory in Belgrade. The Company employs around 500 people. The Centroproizvod business—expected to reach sales of almost $35.5 million in 2011—includes dry spices and seasonings, soups and dressings; beverages such as chocolate drinks and tea; and confectionery products. “This acquisition is a strategic move to strengthen Nestlé’s presence in the region,” said Marco Travaglia, head of Nestlé’s Adriatic Region. Centroproizvod’s leading product is Začin C seasoning mix. Nestlé has been in the Adriatic region since 2003. Nestlé is an NCN Cornerstone Investor.

Provexis Acquires Sports Nutrition Company
Provexis plc (Windsor, U.K.), a developer and licensor of functional food, medical food and dietary supplement technologies, has entered into a conditional agreement to purchase SiS (Science in Sport, Blackburn, U.K.) in a deal worth £8 million. SiS makes and sells sports nutrition products, generating unaudited revenues of £4.6 million for fiscal year ended December 31, 2010. Provexis has also raised £2.5 million via a placing of new ordinary shares and intends to undertake an open offer to shareholders to raise up to £2.2 million after the acquisition. Provexis cited figures pegging the global sports drink market at an estimated $24.5 billion in 2010; sales of sports drinks in the U.K. were estimated at £220 million, sports foods £30 million, and sports supplements £70 million. “The revenue-generating, profitable nature of the new business will help us to achieve our strategic goals by adding a near term revenue stream to our longer term pipeline development bias,” said Stephen Moon, CEO of Provexis.