Pretzilla

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has been acquired by Benestar Brands, a portfolio company of Highlander Partners Logo

Pretzilla® (“Miller Baking” or the “Company”) is one of the leading soft pretzel brands nationally, operating in both the retail and foodservice channels. The Company offers an array of soft pretzel bread products, including burger buns, mini buns, sausage buns, and bites
Founded as a family-owned business in 1923 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Miller Baking traditionally produced all kinds of bread and baked goods. Under the leadership of owner Brian Miller in 2010, the Company created the Pretzilla® brand and began focusing on soft pretzel bread

In early 2020, owner Brian Miller began looking into a sale of Pretzilla®
With the successful evolution from a generalist bakery to an artisan business focused on pretzel bread and bites, Pretzilla® maintained significant revenue growth (year-over-year) and best-in-class margins
Brian Miller believed that the Company had outgrown his entrepreneurial skill set and expertise and felt that it was the right time to capitalize on the Company’s growth through a sale to a strategic buyer

Cascadia Capital was hired as the exclusive advisor to run a process to find an acquirer for Pretzilla®
Cascadia held fireside chat discussions with a selective group of buyers in order to quickly educate the buyer pool on the opportunity, as Pretzilla® had received a pre-emptive offer at the time Cascadia was hired as an advisor
Following these fireside chat discussions and the formal marketing process, Benestar Brands, a portfolio company of Highlander Partners, separated themselves as the front-runner due to proposed deal structure and valuation
Cascadia supported Pretzilla® in marketing, diligence, and negotiations to successfully complete a double-digit EBITDA multiple for the Company within 90 days of being hired
Through industry knowledge and expertise, Cascadia helped Pretzilla® create competitive tension with its pre-emptive offer, which resulted in an enterprise value from Benestar that was about 15-20% higher than what was proposed in the pre-emptive