Chicago, Illinois – Code Hennessy & Simmons IV LP (CHS) recently acquired Otis Spunkmeyer, a leading manufacturer and distributor of frozen cookie dough, pre-baked muffins and other hand-held sweet baked goods for foodservice accounts and food retailers. Otis Spunkmeyer is the #1 maker of frozen cookie dough and the #2 maker of pre-baked muffins. The $275 million investment was financed through Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan, who provided $100 million in B notes, and through Goldman Sachs, who supplied preferred stock and subordinated debt. CHS maintains a majority ownership position.

“We pursued Otis Spunkmeyer as an investment because we believe the company is rapidly becoming one of the biggest names in food service,” remarked Andrew Code, Partner at CHS. “The company already has a strong national customer base, including Subway, ARAMARK and Sodexho as well as other food service players.” Mr. Code also noted that the company already has a strong management team and has several new business initiatives planned for the near term.

Otis Spunkmeyer is headquartered in San Leandro, California and operates three manufacturing facilities in the United States that produce over 30 million cookies and 3.6 million muffins weekly. The Company serves its customers through its owned door-store-delivery network (including 415 routes and more than 50 sales centers) and through third party distribution. The Company generated revenue of $250 million in 2002.

Otis Spunkmeyer gives CHS investors a powerful platform for growth in a non-cyclical industry. It has a history of strong, proven leadership and a broad management team accustomed to operating in a leveraged environment. The company has an extensive customer base, a diverse vendor base and excess manufacturing capacity to support its continued growth initiatives. CHS intends to work closely with management to accelerate the company’s foodservice growth initiatives and transition its retail distribution system from owned to outsourced distribution.

Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC is a Chicago-based private equity firm founded in 1988. The company has managed more than $1.6 billion of capital in four funds. The firm focuses on building shareholder value through strong relationships and sound investment strategies.