Private equity firm Clearlake Capital Group, LP has signed an agreement to acquire BakeMark USA, LLC from Pamplona Capital Management.

With over 100 years of service to the baking industry, BakeMark operates as a link between diversified bases of suppliers and customers, serving approximately 1,200 suppliers and about 19,000 customers across the US and Canada. Covering substantially all channels in the bakery industry, BakeMark serves retail bakery, in-store bakery, wholesale bakery, foodservice operators, and beyond.

Headquartered in Pico Rivera, California, BakeMark is a manufacturer and distributor of bakery ingredients, products and supplies. Operating 5 manufacturing sites and 29 distribution centres the United States and Canada, BakeMark supplies customers in the retail bakery, in-store bakery, wholesale bakery and foodservice channels.

In addition to manufacturing products, BakeMark also provides resale ingredients, with offerings including bakery mixes, fillings, glazes and icings. The company is the exclusive distributor of brands such as Westco, BakeSense, Best Brands, Multifoods, BakeQwik, Trigal Dorado, C’est Vivant and Sprinkelina.

“We are thrilled to partner with BakeMark and support the company in its next stage of accelerated growth,” said José Feliciano, Clearlake co-founder and managing partner, and Arta Tabaee, managing director at Clearlake.

“We believe long-term market tailwinds, including increased focus on supply chain simplification and growing demand for ethnic and speciality bakery products, offer a unique opportunity to invest behind a category leader like BakeMark.”

William Pruellage, co-managing partner at Pamplona, which acquired the BakeMark business from CSM Bakery Solutions in 2017, said: “It has been an absolute pleasure working with Jim and his team to establish BakeMark as an independent platform and to aggressively grow the business into the clear market leader in the bakery distribution space through both organic initiatives and add-on acquisitions.”