(Reuters) - Private equity firm Blackstone is considering a sale of Trilliant Food & Nutrition that could value the U.S. company behind the Victor Allen's and Aspen Ridge coffee brands at about $600 million including debt, three people familiar with the matter said.
Blackstone has tapped Bank of America ( BAC ) as financial adviser on the potential sale, the sources said.
Trilliant generates nearly $60 million of annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, the sources added.
Blackstone and Bank of America ( BAC ) declined to comment. Trilliant did not respond to requests for comment.
Trilliant makes private label and branded beverages, including coffee grounds, coffee pods, teas and fruit drink mixes. The Wisconsin-based company was founded in 1979 by Victor Allen Mondry and changed its name from Victor Allen's Coffee to Trilliant in 2013.
While Trilliant's business has taken a hit from a jump in raw material costs it has benefited from consumers seeking the convenience of single-serve and ready-to-drink coffee, as well as growing demand for cheaper private-label products, credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service said last year.
Blackstone gained majority ownership of the company through a preferred equity investment in 2017.
It invested $291 million in the form of payment-in-kind notes, which grow each year as the company adds to the notes balance instead of paying Blackstone annual interest.