Mergers & Acquisitions Announces 2013 Mid-Market Award Winners

Hormel Foods’ Purchase of Skippy Chosen as Deal of the Year

Mergers & Acquisitions, SourceMedia’s leading resource for middle-market dealmakers, has announced the winners of the seventh annual M&A Mid-Market Awards. Chosen by the editors of Mergers & Acquisitions, the awards honor the dealmakers and deals that set the standard for transactions with an enterprise value of less than $1 billion.

“In a down year for dealmaking, the 2013 winners stood out for their ability to grow, thrive and innovate,” said Mary Kathleen Flynn, Editor-in-Chief of Mergers & Acquisitions. “All the winners expanded their businesses, and several entered new markets, including markets outside the U.S.”

Hormel Foods Corp., brought home Deal of the Year for the $700 million acquisition of the popular Skippy peanut butter brand from Unilever plc, a transaction that grows the company’s business both in the non-meat product line and also internationally, especially in China, where Skippy is the leading brand of peanut butter.

Stewart Kohl and Béla Szigethy, co-CEOs of the Riverside Co., were named Dealmakers of the Year for completing 22 deals, selling 11 portfolio companies and raising the firm’s largest fund. The New York and Cleveland firm is a two-time winner of Private Equity Firm of the Year, receiving honors in 2012 and 2009.

In addition, Mergers & Acquisitions recognized the following firms:

GTCR LLC won Private Equity Firm of the Year for achievements in investing, including founding two new platform companies, selling two portfolio companies and raising the biggest fund in the Chicago firm’s 30-year history.

Yahoo Inc. received Strategic Buyer of the Year for acquiring nearly 40 companies, including Tumblr Inc., since Marissa Mayer took over as CEO in July 2012.

Lincoln International LLC won Investment Bank of the Year for expanding into new territories, including Asia, Europe and South America.

Fifth Street Management LLC brought home Lender of the Year, for growing significantly in many areas, including making its first strategic acquisition, taking a second business development company public and entering venture lending.

Latham & Watkins scored Law Firm of the Year for advising on more completed deals with price tags at or below the $1 billion mark than any other U.S. law firm.

Vector Capital received Seller of the Year for exiting four portfolio companies and recapitalizing two others.

For complete coverage of the winners, including video interviews, please visithttp://www.themiddlemarket.com/awards. The awards also will be featured in the April issue of Mergers & Acquisitions magazine.

About the M&A Mid-Market Awards
To be eligible for Mergers & Acquisitions' M&A Mid-Market Awards, deals must have closed during the previous year, involved a U.S.-based company as either buyer or seller and be valued at or below roughly $1 billion. Nominations are encouraged, but not required. Special consideration is given to such factors as performance, growth, innovation and thought leadership. For more information, please contact: Mary Kathleen Flynn, Editor in Chief, at MaryKathleen.Flynn(at)sourcemedia(dot)com or 212-803-8708.

About Mergers & Acquisitions
Mergers & Acquisitions covers all aspects of middle-market deal making, including identifying acquisition targets, negotiating transactions, performing due diligence, and closing deals. Serving nearly 18,600 print subscribers, our monthly magazine is published in partnership with the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), a global organization comprised of thousands of private equity firms, corporate officials and intermediaries. With more than 40,000 unique monthly visitors, themiddlemarket.com is continuously updated, providing real-time information and analysis of news and trends in M&A.

About SourceMedia
SourceMedia, an Investcorp company, is a business to business media and marketing solutions company serving the financial industry and the related fields of professional services and technology. SourceMedia offers its clients and subscribers professional information services, industry-standard research, data applications, in-depth seminars and conferences, and specialized marketing services.

Corporate Contact:
Mary Kathleen Flynn
Editor in Chief, M&A
212-803-8708
MaryKathleen.Flynn@sourcemedia.com