Yakima Chief / Hopunion Merger

“As we contemplated bringing two hop supply companies together, we needed an experienced merger consultant to help us analyze the economic consequences of the transaction and value the companies.

Zachary Scott's team was able to quickly gain an understanding of the business basics, analyze the numbers, and offer a compelling financial case for moving forward. They were then able to offer their assistance with financing the combined business under some very aggressive timelines.

Their expertise and professional approach helped us to launch our new, combined business and I would recommend them to other businesses with similar needs.”

Steve Carpenter, COO, Yakima Chief, Inc.

Situation

Located in the Yakima Valley, Yakima Chief and Hopunion are two of the world’s most prominent hop processors and marketers. After working together for many years, these two grower-owned enterprises wished to explore the various benefits of joining forces. The respective boards elected a Joint Board Task Force to examine the logic of a business combination and to recommend a mechanism and process to accomplish the combination.

ZS Role

ZS was engaged as financial advisor to the Joint Board Task Force to assist in evaluating the merits and feasibility of a business combination with respect to value and capital structure.

Results

Yakima Chief and Hopunion combined to form Yakima Chief-Hopunion, LLC, one of the world’s largest hop processors, with a unique advantage of serving both international breweries and the growing craft beer segment.