Background

THE CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT GROUP

Headquartered in southern California, The Corporate Development Group ("TCDG") was established in 1995 with the objective of assisting middle market food companies to grow to the next level through the activities of : Private Equity, Investment Banking, and Repositioning & Growth Strategies.

From the beginning the group held certain core beliefs:

There is a need for a firm with the highest levels of professionalism, integrity, senior-level attention, and food industry specific focus.

In a world rife with conflicts of interest, there is a need for a firm that is able to provide entirely objective advice without any pressure from alternative agendas.

“The glad hand is all right in sunshine, but it’s the helping hand on a dark day that folks remember to the end of time." Amadeo P. Giannini, Founder of B of A

The concept that has evolved into The Corporate Development Group originated years ago through extensive discussions with the CEO’s of middle market food companies. CEO’s found that private equity groups are not industry specific hence as financial partners can provide limited assistance in corporate development activities. Investment bankers, on the other hand, are transaction oriented, and often develop little more than a superficial understanding of the real dynamics of a company and its industry. And consultants are not involved in the implementation of the strategies that they help to create.

Most importantly, CEO’s found that there is no single group that can provide a total solution for their needs of restructuring and growth.

In addition, most middle market companies do not have a substantial in-house corporate development capabilities. This is because of (1) intermittent or non-recurring need for many of the activities; (2) competing priorities for limited financial resources; (3) other demands for management focus; and (4) the diversity and depth of skills required.

Organized with these perspectives, The Corporate Development Group is clearly differentiated . The principals of TCDG bring diverse backgrounds, at executive levels, from the food industry as well as banking. TCDG focuses their experience and skills on developing a clear understanding of a company’s core competencies, its competitive advantages, its challenges, and its opportunities. Only then can TCDG create and implement the most effective growth strategies.