Baking & Snack - May 2014 - 12

EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor
Executive Editor
Managing Editor

Going with a gut feeling

Selling a company isn't as easy as you think. At least, that's what Fady Hayek
found out when his family put PBF Pita Bread Factory up for sale last year.
"It was a longer, more involved process than I thought it would be," said
the president of the Burnaby, BC, bakery located just outside Vancouver. "I'm
not trying to scare anybody off, but always expect it to be more complicated
than you anticipate. The best thing is to hire a merger-and-acquisition specialist company. Let the professionals do the work."
Working with KPMG, Fady, along with his brothers Sid, operations manager, and Ron, CFO, crunched the numbers and put all of the data together
for what ended up being more than a dozen potential suitors.
Then the process turned out to be sort of the business version of The
Bachelor. Or maybe just an extended version of Shark Tank. The three brothers spent a full day with each potential buyer. "The bottom line is that they're
selling you," Fady observed. "If they can't help you sell your products and
build your business in the long run, it's not going to work."
Fady has been in the business for 30 years and, now in his 50s, is at the
stage of his life when he can retire, but Sid and Ron are younger and want to
remain active in the bakery. As a result, finding the right strategic business
partner involved more than just pulling together the numbers and getting
the right price. "It's a gut feeling that you get," Fady explained. "You meet the
principals, and you know exactly how they plan to work with you. It's like a
marriage. If you don't have a good feeling, you'll never take the next step and
tie the knot."
In the end, PBF chose Chicago-based Arbor Investments, a private equity firm whose portfolio includes other mid-sized bakeries such as Gold
Standard Baking, Chicago. During the process, he talked to Yianny Caparos,
Gold Standard's president, and his brother George, vice-president of sales,
before making their decision. "They had really positive things to say about
their experience with Arbor," Fady said.
As a part of the agreement, Arbor recapitalized PBF while the
Hayek family retained a significant portion of the business. Fady,
Sid and Ron still manage day-to-day operations as they work
with Arbor on the common goal of taking the company to the
next level.
Obviously, not all marriages work out, and in business,
partnerships involving private equity firms don't last forever.
However, Fady and his brothers feel by going with their gut,
they felt they made the right decision. They got to sell the
company and bought a little time.
For now, they feel blessed to be able to still work together.
- Dan Malovany, editor
dmalovany@sosland.com

Senior Editor

Dan Malovany
dmalovany@sosland.com
Laurie Gorton
lgorton@sosland.com
Joanie Spencer
jspencer@sosland.com
Charlotte Atchley
catchley@sosland.com

Ryan Atkinson
ratkinson@sosland.com
Contributing Editors:
Donna Berry
donnaberry@dairy-food.com
Theresa Cogswell
bakercogs@sbcglobal.net
Jim Kline
jkline@theensolgroup.com
Joe Stout
joe.stout@cf-san.com
Assistant Editor

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Baking & Snack - May 2014

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