06.18.01
The Food Partners' Collins Joins Menashe in Firm's Seattle Office
The 17-year investment banking veteran to continue managing firm's national acquisition and strategic advisory projects, while supporting The Food Partners' accelerated growth in the Western U.S.

June 18, 2001, Washington, D.C. - Dave P. Collins, a founding partner of The Food Partners (TFP), a national investment banking firm focusing exclusively on the food industry, will join Jeff A. Menashe in the firm's Seattle office, according to P. Gregory O'Brien, TFP principal.

"Although Dave will physically move from Washington, DC, he will continue to manage our acquisition and strategic advisory projects nationally," said O'Brien.

"He also will work closely with Jeff and the Seattle office to help support the growth in our business throughout the western U.S., which has accelerated due to the opening of our office in Seattle last October," he added.

Collins, who specializes in acquisition planning and execution, restructuring and advisory services, has 17-plus years of food industry investment banking experience.

During the past seven years, Collins has been a major participant in more than 50 transactions, including acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, debt placements and supply agreements representing total consideration of nearly $1 billion.

Prior to forming TFP, Collins served as director of KMPG Retail Ventures and director of financial planning for Nash Finch Company. Before that, Collins was an executive at Stop-N-Go, a 55-unit chain of convenience stores.

While at Nash Finch, Collins analyzed more than 200 capital expenditure projects and 70 transactions, including acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and supply agreements involving the company's grocery wholesaling, supermarket, dairy and produce growing, packing and importing operations.

O'Brien and David W. Schoeder, principal, formed TFP in February 2000. Both are former managing directors of KMPG Retail Ventures. They, along with TFP's other founding partners, Dave P. Collins, Matthew S. Morris and Carlos A. Garcia, were instrumental in making KMPG Retail Ventures KMPG's most successful finance group in the U.S. prior to forming TFP.

The Food Partners, with offices in Washington, DC, and Seattle, WA, is a national investment banking firm focusing exclusively on the food chain. With more than 80 years of collective investment banking experience, TFP provides merger, acquisition, divestiture, capital raising and strategic advisory services to the food industry. Clients served by TFP span the entire food chain and include privately and publicly held companies and cooperatives.