Advantage Solutions – a leading provider of sales and marketing services to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers – announced it has sold its collection of foodservice businesses, most notably Waypoint, to Prospect Hill Growth Partners, L.P.
As part of the sale, the food service businesses will be combined with KeyImpact Sales & Systems, with Advantage receiving total proceeds of approximately $100 million, which is a combination of mostly cash and an ongoing 7.5% stake in the combined entity. And the sale will streamline Advantage’s portfolio, allowing the company to focus on its core retail businesses and strengthen its balance sheet.
Due to the result of the transaction, KeyImpact will combine with Waypoint, Marlin Connections, Primeline, CSSI, Ettros, Halverson Group and Coleman, Greear & Associates to form one of North America’s leading foodservice solutions agencies, Acxion Foodservice. Along with stake in Acxion, Advantage will obtain a seat on its board of directors.
Advantage and Acxion will maintain a close relationship and help ensure their complementary services are available to common clients between the two distinct brokerage channels. And Advantage Solutions plans to use the majority of the proceeds to pay down debt, further strengthening its balance sheet and allowing the company to invest in its talent and core businesses strategically.
This sale is Advantage’s latest business initiative focused on its broader plan to accelerate growth. And the company also announced today it has entered into two separate agreements with third-party technology companies to optimize and streamline a host of business process and administrative functions.
These moves follow a series of deals completed in late 2023, including the sale of Atlas Technology Group to Crisp – which occurred in October, and the company’s December announcement to streamline and restructure its international businesses, most notably reducing its stake in Advantage Smollan Limited (a joint venture with the Smollan Group operating in Europe) from a majority stake of under 60% to a minority position of 49.6% in exchange for cash and other considerations.
KEY QUOTES:
“Acxion is the perfect partner for our foodservice companies, and the combination of the businesses will create a player with the capabilities and breadth to offer industry-leading services. While we continue to see growth potential in the foodservice category, we believe that our clients are best served when we focus on our core retail capabilities while partnering to compete in adjacent segments. This deal allows Advantage to further prioritize other growth efforts in a more focused way. We are excited to partner with Acxion on an ongoing basis, and we look forward to sharing in the company’s success going forward.”
“Simplifying our business sharpens our focus on how we convert shoppers into buyers for both our consumer packaged goods and retailer customers. The strategic decisions we’re making at Advantage are designed to improve how we serve our clients and customers, while helping us improve cash flow and position the company for profitable growth.”
– Advantage Solutions CEO Dave Peacock
