Back to Nature Foods Co., LLC, a portfolio company of Brynwood Partners VI L.P., acquired Mondelez Global, LLC’s SnackWell’s cookies and snacks business. Terms and conditions of the transaction were not disclosed.

Brynwood VI and Mondelez Global formed the Back to Nature joint venture in 2012 through an innovative structure whereby Brynwood VI acquired operating control, while Mondelez Global retained a minority position in the new company.

SnackWell’s was originally launched by Nabisco Inc. in 1992 as a line of reduced-fat and fat-free cookies and crackers. The line currently includes Creme Sandwich Cookies, Devil’s Food Cakes, Fudge Pretzels, Yogurt Pretzels and popcorn products in portion-control sizes.

“We look forward to owning the SnackWell’s brand and integrating it into our Back to Nature organization,” says Vincent Fantegrossi, president and CEO of Back to Nature. “Its healthy attributes, loyal consumer base and strong distribution make SnackWell’s a very complementary product line offering to our Back to Nature products. SnackWell’s is an iconic brand, and we are excited about the potential that this acquisition brings to our company. SnackWell’s significantly increases our scale in the important cookie and cracker categories.”

“We are thrilled to announce the SnackWell's transaction and are honored that Mondelez Global LLC has the confidence in Brynwood Partners to add another brand to this unique joint venture arrangement,” says Henk Hartong, senior managing partner of Brynwood VI and nonexecutive chairman of Back to Nature. “We are excited to continue to work with Mondelez Global LLC in our collective efforts to maximize the value of Back to Nature, which will be enhanced by the addition of SnackWell's.”

Brynwood Partners has acquired 39 corporate brands from 15 different corporate sellers, including the SnackWell's acquisition. Some of the company’s current and prior investments are Turtles chocolate candy and Flipz chocolate covered pretzels (acquired from Nestle USA Inc.); TrueNorth nut clusters and Kretschmer wheat germ (both acquired from PepsiCo Inc.); and Balance Bar energy/nutrition bars (acquired from Kraft Foods).

Source: Brynwood Partners, PR Newswire