Chicago-based Arbor Investments acquired South Coast Baking, LLC, a manufacturer of frozen cookie dough for North America's leading club stores, grocery retailers, foodservice distributors and quick-service restaurants.

Founded in 2011 by baking industry veteran Kent Hayden, South Coast Baking operates out of two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities strategically located in Irvine, Calif., and Springdale, Ark.

"South Coast is a critical piece to our long-term strategy in the baking segment," says Brody Lynn, vice president of Arbor Investments. "Kent and his team have built a tremendous company with high-quality products and a customer-driven culture that will fit seamlessly into our baking platform."

"The addition of South Coast transforms Le Petit Pain into a formidable player in the North American baking landscape," adds Mike Schultz, operating partner at Arbor Investments. "The company's complimentary product offering and strategic manufacturing locations will create significant opportunities to expand the platform's geographic reach across all product categories."

"As the company enters its next growth phase, partnering with Arbor and joining the Le Petit platform creates exciting opportunities for our customers and employees," says Hayden. "It is refreshing to find partners who share our strategic vision and have a track record of unparalleled success in the baking industry. The senior teams at South Coast and Le Petit are very familiar with each other and have an enormous amount of mutual respect, so it is great to finally be a part of the same organization."