LITTLE ROCK, Ark — Westrock Coffee Company, LLC announced on Friday, Jan. 31 that it has agreed to acquire North Carolina-based S&D Coffee & Tea (“S&D”) from Cott Corporation.
The transaction is expected to close within the next several weeks and will create the leading integrated coffee company serving the needs of the retail, restaurant, convenience store, and hospitality industries.
“This strategic combination will create the nation’s premier coffee, tea, and extract supplier that is capable of serving the most complex and demanding customers across the country and around the world. We intend to use the scale of the new company to offer the most innovative beverage solutions with competitive pricing to our global clients while simultaneously providing a premium price to our farmer partners at origin. Our unmatched commitment to customer service, product quality, and our industry-leading sustainability and transparent sourcing practices will remain a cornerstone of our business,” said Scott Ford, Westrock Coffee Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer.
The companies will continue to serve customers under their respective brand names for the foreseeable future.
Westrock Coffee will remain headquartered in Arkansas, with its recently enlarged roasting and packaging plant in North Little Rock already earmarked for further expansion.
Likewise, the S&D organization in Concord, NC will continue as a major center of operations with plans to continue expansion of these facilities. The new company will employ approximately 1,700 people globally and can roast, grind, and package more than 220 million pounds of coffee annually.
The company will also continue to be one of the largest tea suppliers in the US and the leading premium extract supplier to global foodservice and consumer product companies.
Ford added, “We are very pleased that following the closing of the transaction, S&D President and CEO Ron Hinson will remain as an advisor to the new, combined organization as Chairman Emeritus. We value Ron’s extensive industry knowledge and deep relationships amassed over his 41 years at S&D. We admire how S&D has grown and evolved during his tenure as President and CEO.” “Participating in S&D’s growth and success during the past four decades has been incredible. We achieved industry leadership by innovating to serve our customers. We invested in job and career growth for employees and our community, and I look forward to working with Scott and the newly combined leadership team to see these achievements go even further. The highly complementary product and customer focus S&D brings to Westrock Coffee makes this a terrific event for our business, our employees, and especially our customers,” Hinson said.
In conjunction with the transaction, BBH Capital Partners, a private equity strategy of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., will provide acquisition capital alongside Westrock Coffee’s existing investors, including The Stephens Group, LLC. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal advisor to Westrock Coffee.