Capstone Partners advised Uncle John’s Pride, a family-owned producer of branded premium meats, on its recapitalization with Promise Holdings, a consumer-focused private holding company, and specialty finance firms Star Mountain Capital and Maranon Capital. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Established in 1974, Uncle John’s Pride is a family-owned producer of premium smoked sausages and meats. Offering a variety of fresh and smoked sausages, bacon, and quail through both retail and foodservice channels, the company features brand-named products under the banners of Uncle John’s Pride, Bean Brothers, Garcia Brand, Peppino Foods, and Realtree. With distribution through national grocery retailers and foodservice distributors including Walmart, Publix, Winn-Dixie, Sysco, US Foods, and Performance Food Group, the company has positioned itself as a premium brand with a strong, reputable foothold in the Southeastern region of the United States.

With the investment, Uncle John’s Pride will have the capital and resources necessary to expand beyond its established regional platform and pursue significant growth via additional private labeling.

Promise Holdings is a private holding company formed to invest in and help operate businesses with exceptional promise and potential. Led by its founder, Gordon C.C. Liao, Promise Holdings has worked with nearly 20 businesses over the last eight years, primarily in the dynamic consumer products and services industries. With a particular focus in the Food, Fashion, Beauty, and Leisure subsectors, Promise and its operating team have significant experience investing in and growing consumer businesses. 

Star Mountain Capital is a specialized asset management firm focused exclusively on the U.S. lower middle market. Backed by an array of sophisticated institutional and high-net-worth investors, Star Mountain has developed a proprietary platform to provide investors with highly diversified access to the attractive risk-reward opportunities available from established businesses that lack the scale necessary to access the more efficient U.S. capital markets.

Maranon Capital, L.P. is an investment firm focused on private credit investments. Maranon’s competitive edge is its multi-product strategies that span the balance sheet with value-added financing and equity co-investments. Since 2007, Maranon has committed over $10 billion of capital.