Ancor Capital Partners and Merit Capital Partners recently acquired Tom Cat Bakery, New York City, one of the nation's largest specialty wholesale bread bakeries. As part of the agreement, Matthew Reich, Tom Cat's C.O.O., will become president and James Rath will remain vice president. Both managers, who have more than 10 years of experience at the company and have run day-to-day operations for the past five years, are now shareholders in the company as well. Noel Labat-Comess, founder and president of Tom Cat, temporarily will act as consultant while developing plans to launch his own, unrelated food business.

Tom Cat Bakery was founded in 1987 in a 1,300-sq.-ft. garage in Long Island City, N.Y. At the time, the company had three employees and produced 25 products. Today, it employs 275 people, operates out of a 45,000-sq.-ft. facility, makes 350 fresh products and has 900 clients in the New York metropolitan area and throughout the Northeast.

“I am incredibly proud of what the Tom Cat team has accomplished over the last 20 years,” Labat-Comess said in a press release about the sale. “And as our customers and the public can attest, we have achieved our extraordinary growth while never compromising the quality of our breads or service.”

According to the press statement, Tom Cat is partnering with Ancor and Merit because they have the financial resources to support Tom Cat's continued growth.