Northborne Partners

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, February 21, 2025 – Northborne Partners is pleased to announce that it served as the exclusive financial advisor to Mercer Culinary (“Mercer”), in connection with its acquisition by CFS Brands, a portfolio company of TJC. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Ronkonkoma, New York, Mercer is a leading provider of professional and commercial grade cutlery, kitchen tools and smallwares to the foodservice and culinary education markets. The Company also operates a well-known premium barware brand, Barfly Mixology Gear, which provides a complete line of barware essentials and accessories to professionals and home enthusiasts.

CFS Brands provides a comprehensive portfolio of products to the hygiene, healthcare and foodservice industries. The acquisition of Mercer will enhance CFS Brands’ product offering, allowing customers further access to a broad and deep lineup of foodservice products and solutions.

Paul Jevnick, Managing Director at Northborne, commented “Mercer has been a market leader in the foodservice industry for decades, and we are honored to have worked with the owners and management to find the right partner for the company moving forward, leveraging Northborne’s industry knowledge and our extensive experience working with family-owned businesses. It has been a privilege to advise the Mercer team on this transaction, and we look forward to seeing Mercer’s continued success under CFS Brands’ ownership.”

Mercer Chief Operating Officer David Wasserman added, “This is a tremendous opportunity to elevate the Mercer and Barfly brands even further. The future looks very bright, and we cannot wait to get started on our new path.”

About Northborne’s involvement, Michael Wallick, Founder and CEO of Mercer Culinary said, “Northborne was an invaluable partner throughout this process. The team’s guidance, based on deep industry experience, was instrumental in allowing Mercer to navigate complex negotiations and ultimately complete the transaction to support Mercer’s continued growth. We are excited to see the next chapter unfold under CFS ownership.”

Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC served as legal advisor to Mercer.

About Northborne Partners

Northborne Partners is a preeminent middle market investment banking firm focused on providing M&A advisory services to companies in the food & consumer, healthcare, industrials and business services sectors. It specializes in advising private-equity-owned and closely held businesses on complex sell-side transactions. Northborne Partners is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. For more information, please visit https://northborne.com/.

About Mercer Culinary

Mercer Culinary is a leading supplier of cutlery, smallwares, barware and apparel to the foodservice and culinary education markets. Through a broad offering of products and brands, Mercer consistently provides solutions that fulfill its foodservice and culinary education customers’ everchanging and dynamic needs. Based in Ronkonkoma, NY with multiple distribution points, Mercer is able to be a global supplier to the markets it serves. For more information, please visit https://www.mercerculinary.com/.

About CFS Brands

CFS Brands is a U.S.-based manufacturer of products for the hygiene, foodservice, and healthcare industries. CFS Brands operates Carlisle FoodService Products, San Jamar, Dinex, Sparta, WipesPlus, Araven, El Castor, Jofel, Snap Drape, Marko, Winco, Bar Maid, G.E.T., Elite Global Solutions, AyrKing, and Piper brands globally. Based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, CFS Brands employs more than 1,800 people across its headquarters, seven manufacturing locations, and eleven distribution centers worldwide. For more information, please visit https://www.cfsbrands.com/.

About TJC

TJC, L.P. (formerly known as The Jordan Company), founded in 1982, is a middle-market private equity firm that has raised funds with original capital commitments in excess of $23 billion and a 41-year track record of investing in and contributing to the growth of many businesses across a wide range of industries including Diversified Industrials; Technology, Telecom & Power; Logistics & Supply Chain and Consumer & Healthcare. The senior investment team has been investing together for over 20 years and is supported by the Operations Management Group, which was established in 1988 to initiate and support operational improvements in portfolio companies. TJC has offices in New York, Miami, Chicago, and Stamford. For more information, please visit http://www.tjclp.com.