PONDERAY, Idaho, U.S – City Capital Ventures, LLC (“City Capital”), a private investment partnership headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, is pleased to announce it has acquired a majority stake in Diedrich Roasters (“Diedrich”) of Ponderay, Idaho.
The transaction enables founders Stephan and Becky Diedrich to retire after 35 years of building Diedrich into an iconic brand in the global coffee industry.
The Company will continue to operate independently under the leadership of current CEO Michael Paquin and his team. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1980 by Stephan Diedrich, a pioneer of the specialty coffee industry, Diedrich is a global leader in manufacturing batch coffee roasting equipment.
Over the past 35 years, the Diedrich name has become synonymous with roasting great coffee. With its proprietary roasting technology and highly crafted components, the iconic Diedrich roaster is the roaster of choice for coffee roastmasters who are serious about roasting the very best coffee.
“I am very proud of the role Diedrich has played in the development of the specialty coffee industry into what we know it as today,” commented Stephan Diedrich. “There is truly no other roaster that roasts like a Diedrich. I am looking forward to entering the next phase of my life and seeing Diedrich’s continued success.”
CEO Michael Paquin will lead Diedrich forward into its next phase of growth, continuing its legacy of uncompromising craftsmanship and roasting excellence.
“This is a great company. I am proud to have been its CEO for the past four years and look forward to continuing to build upon the strong foundation established by Steve and Becky Diedrich,” commented Mike Paquin.
“With their long-term minded, private family capital and thoughtful strategic approach, City Capital is an ideal partner to help us achieve the accelerated growth and long-term success that we believe is possible.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Mike (Paquin) and the entire Diedrich team to carry on the rich legacy started by Steve and Becky Diedrich four decades ago,” said Allen Tibshrany, Managing Director of City Capital Ventures.
“We continue to be amazed with the craftsmanship of Diedrich’s roasters and the power of the Diedrich brand, both domestically and abroad, and look forward to helping this proud Idaho company attain new heights in the years ahead.”
This transaction marks the second investment by City Capital Ventures in 2016. “We are excited with the number of compelling investment opportunities we have seen over the past year.
We believe our strategy of investing in compelling businesses deemed too small by mainstream private equity firms and corporate acquirers, and supporting them with “large firm” strategic resources, will serve our investors and operating companies well over our long-term investment horizons” remarked Dan Kipp, Founder & Managing Partner of City Capital Ventures.
Lighthouse Ventures, an independent management & investment firm based in Seattle, collaborated with City Capital to complete the transaction. KeyBank’s Seattle office provided a senior term loan and revolving credit facility as part of the transaction.
