(p. B3) The Greek yogurt maker Chobani is parting ways with TPG — the private equity firm that gave the company a financial lifeline in 2014 — and bringing on a new investor, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.
TPG, which lent Chobani $750 million four years ago through its private equity and credit funds and received warrants that could have converted into a 25 to 35 percent stake in the company, will leave with a handsome profit but no remaining stake in the yogurt maker.
. . .
“It’s about long-term thinking, having a long-term partner and getting more control back,” Chobani’s founder, Hamdi Ulukaya, said in a recent interview. “That’s the heart of it.”
Mr. Ulukaya will also gain a path to reclaim near-total control of the company he founded in 2007. Under the terms of the deal, Chobani can buy back about half of Hoopp’s equity over time.
Should that occur, Mr. Ulukaya, the company and its more than 2,000 employees would control about 90 percent of Chobani’s stock, an unusual dynamic for such a large company.
“We’re trying to protect what we’ve built, and make sure we’re going in the right direction,” Mr. Ulukaya said.
For the full story, see:
David Gelles. “Chobani, With New Investor on Board, Sees Path to Financial Control.” The New York Times (Thursday, June 28, 2018): B3.
(Note: ellipsis added.)
(Note: the online version of the story also has the date June 28, 2018, and has the title “Chobani, the Greek Yogurt Maker, Reclaims Control of Its Finances.”)