The private equity firm that bought the brand in 2011 is considering selling the brand.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
The private equity firm that bought Stumptown Coffee in 2011 is considering selling the brand.
A Wall Street Journal story (behind a paywall) reported that TSG Consumer Partners is working through the preliminary steps of a sale.
From OregonLive.com:
The investment from TSG kicked up some backlash in 2011, when many wondered if founder Duane Sorenson was still leading the company.
At the time, Stumptown officials maintained said the private-equity backer was needed to expand locations and offerings. There are now shops dotted around the Northwest and in Los Angeles and New York. TSG invests in consumer product companies, such as VitaminWater and makeup.
TSG owns about 90 percent of the company, according to the WSJ.
Willamette Week reports:
Sorenson has remained CEO of the company in the four years since selling a majority stake—although First Beverage Co.’s Joth Ricci came on as President—as the company expanded into the retail cold-brew coffee market nationwide, along with opening cafes in New York and Los Angeles.
Sorenson, meanwhile, has increasingly taken on the role of restaurateur, opening multiple eateries along Stumptown’s original southeast Division Street home, including the Woodsman Tavern and Market, Roman Candle and our 2013 restaurant of the year runner-up, Ava Gene’s.
It is unclear whether Sorenson will remain with the company should it be sold again.
