BALTIMORE — Grain Craft, the largest independent milling company in the United States, on June 21 announced that its parent company has entered into an agreement under which Redwood Capital Investments, LLC will acquire Grain Craft. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Based in Baltimore, Redwood Capital Investments is a holding company that has invested in long-standing family-owned businesses across a range of industries. Grain Craft will continue to operate as an independent business following the transaction, Grain Craft said.

“We are extremely excited to partner with Redwood and look forward to continuing to grow our business together,” said Peter T. Frederick, president and chief executive officer of Grain Craft. “Redwood is the ideal long-term home for the largest independent flour miller in the country. They have a clear understanding of the business, its principles, and management’s long-term strategy to create value for all stakeholders.”

The nation’s third largest flour milling company, Grain Craft operates 13 flour mills in the United States. The company is headquartered in Chattanooga, Tenn., and has a satellite office in Overland Park, Kan. In October 2021, the company opened a new laboratory facility in the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center in Manhattan. The Grain Craft Innovation and Quality Lab (GCIQ) features three laboratory spaces with one each devoted to wheat, flour and baking. 

Grain Craft was established in May 2014 after Milner Milling Co. and its partner Pendleton Flour Mills acquired Cereal Food Processors, Inc., Mission Woods, Kan., bringing together three of the most prominent independent milling companies in the United States. The company currently is owned by G&L Holdings, a family holding company. For decades before Grain Craft was established, the Grizzard and Labbe families, together with Grain Craft chairman, Charlie Stout, worked to build Milner Milling and Pendleton Flour Mills into leading flour milling companies. Cereal Foods was established in 1972 by Fred Merrill and grew to become one of the largest milling companies in the United States.