November 2013. Kickapoo Valley Cheese Corporation (“Kickapoo”) has completed the sale of the company to Biery Cheese Company of Louisville, Ohio. Kickapoo, based in Sherry, Wisconsin, is a cheese packaging company that provides a variety of specialty slicing and packaging services.  Kickapoo’s services include slicing and packaging cheese in shingles and stacks, party trays, cubes, chunks and wedges. Kickapoo works with standard commodity cheeses as well as with a variety of specialty, organic, kosher, and rBGH free cheeses. 

“The sale of my business was the most significant and complex transaction of my career,” noted Jim Leytus, president and owner of Kickapoo. “Steve Royko and the rest of the team at The Peakstone Group were invaluable to the process.  They guided the development of a successful sell strategy; defined, identified and contacted potential buyers; solicited bids, evaluated interested candidates, negotiated letters of intent, helped with the selection of the strongest and most likely buyer; and coordinated the process from letter of intent to purchase agreement.  Steve and The Peakstone team were indefatigable in their efforts to manage the process towards the goal we all desired, the close.”

Biery Cheese Co. was started in 1929 by Norman F. Biery, who started out making Swiss cheese in Louisville, Ohio. The company has evolved from a manufacturing company to a packaging, processing, and distributing company providing chunks, shreds, slices, diced, cubes, and snacking cheeses to its customers.  For over 84 years, Biery Cheese has been servicing customers in all sectors of the cheese business: retail, foodservice, and ingredient.

The Peakstone Group served as exclusive financial advisor to Kickapoo in connection with this transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For additional information about this transaction, contact:
Steve Royko, Managing Director, 608-236-4490, sroyko@peakstone.com

About The Peakstone Group

Peakstone is an investment bank that specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising for middle market clients.  The Peakstone team is comprised of senior investment banking professionals who have decades of experience and have executed hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars. Please visit our website, peakstone.com.