In 2019, Axial launched its quarterly League Tables to highlight the top Investment Banks and M&A Advisory Firms based on platform activity and data. Building on that tradition, we introduced the Advisor Industry Awards to recognize individual sell-side members and their standout closed deals.
For the second year in a row, Axial is celebrating the top deals of 2024 across 12 industries. Nominations were based on a rigorous review of over 2,000 deals by Axial’s research and business development teams, evaluating key factors such as:
Marketing activity on Axial
Minimum $500K EBITDA
Deal closure within the 2024 calendar year
Level of buyer interest generated (pursuits)
Strategic deal distribution by the advisor
Wood Warren has been recognized as a top dealmaker of 2024 in the food and hospitality sector! The Axial Advisor Industry Awards honor advisors who demonstrate exceptional performance, and this year, our very own Brian Kerester was selected for his outstanding work on the Chalet Desserts transaction winning our first Axial Industry Awards Top Deal!
Chalet Desserts, a premier wholesale bakery based in Sacramento, California, serves retailers and dessert manufacturers nationwide. Specializing in specialty frozen bakery desserts and inclusions, the company provides finished products—such as cake pops—to supermarkets and convenience stores, as well as ice cream manufacturers.
Wood Warren advised Chalet Desserts on its sale to Encore Consumer Capital, which successfully closed in May 2024. Brian Kerester, a partner at Wood Warren and long-time Axial member, shared insights into the deal’s progression, noting that Wood Warren had known Encore for over 15 years. Encore first introduced them to Chalet in January 2022, but at the time, the company was too small for their investment criteria.
Seeking the right buyer, Wood Warren posted the deal on Axial in mid-2022, generating multiple indications of interest. “We withdrew from the market in late 2022 and returned in the spring of 2023 after the company demonstrated substantial growth in revenues and EBITDA and expanded its production capacity,” said Kerester. “Most buyers who expressed interest in Chalet were sourced via the Axial platform, with the deal ultimately receiving more than 10 IOIs and LOIs due to Chalet’s strong fundamentals and rapid growth.”
After revisiting Encore in 2023, Wood Warren successfully closed the sale in May 2024. “I continue to follow the company closely and can say that Encore has proven to be an excellent partner for Chalet and is supporting its continued growth,” Kerester added. “While our engagement spanned over two years, we are proud of the outcome and believe our participation on the Axial platform created significant value for Chalet and Wood Warren.”
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