Superior Capital Partners, LLC, a Detroit, Mich.-based private equity firm, sold its portfolio company, Dianne's Fine Desserts, to an affiliate of Geneva Glen Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm.

Based in Newburyport, Mass., Dianne's provides frozen thaw-and-serve desserts to the foodservice industry, national restaurant chains and in-store bakeries.

Superior acquired Dianne's in partnership with industry executives Mike Knowles and Dan Scales in a carve-out transaction from Heinz Foodservice in 2012. Over Superior's 4-year ownership period, it has broadened its product line, won new accounts, penetrated the in-store bakery channel and built out an industry-leading infrastructure with a focus on innovation, quality and service.

"The Dianne's investment provides a perfect example of the types of investments that we seek to make as a special situations fund,” says Andrew Wiegand, a managing director at Superior. “In Mike and Dan, we partnered with two of the top executives in the baked goods industry and provided them with the assistance and support they needed to take an orphaned and under-performing division of Heinz and establish Dianne's as a leading player in the industry. We invested heavily in the company's systems and production facilities, and completed an acquisition to realize over 50% revenue growth and a ten-fold increase in earnings. The company is now extremely well positioned to realize growth over the long term."

"We wish to thank Superior for their partnership throughout an exciting 4-year period,” adds Mike Knowles, Dianne's CEO. “Their support in effecting a highly successful carve-out and their shared vision for growth were instrumental to the success that Dianne's has achieved. We appreciate their contributions, and look forward to our partnership with Geneva Glen Capital to execute on the next phase of our growth."

"We are extremely happy with the results of the Dianne's investment and the culmination of our partnership with Mike and Dan,” says Mark Carroll, Superior's managing partner. “It's particularly gratifying to see our special situation investment thesis lead to the creation of an industry leading company with such a bright future. It is also evidence that our well-executed strategy is generating the types of returns that we sought when we established Superior Capital. Dianne's represents only the second exit of the Superior Fund and we've already returned over 100% of all called capital. The fund has four investments remaining that we are continuing to cultivate and grow."