Bakewise Brands, Inc., headquartered in Macedon, New York, was created through the combination of two baking industry leaders, Fleischer’s Bagels and Tom Cat Bakery. Fleischer’s Bagels (fleischersbagels.com), headquartered in Macedon, New York, is one of the country’s leading producers of premium quality packaged bagels. Fleischer’s produces and sells approximately 200 million fresh, frozen and refrigerated packaged bagels, annually, under private label and co-pack arrangements. In December 2008, Fleischer’s acquired Tom Cat Bakery (tomcatbakery.com), a producer of premium artisan bread and sweet goods for casual and fine dining restaurants, specialty retailers and foodservice companies. Tom Cat offers over 400 types of products to casual and fine dining restaurants, other foodservice companies and specialty retailers. Tom Cat serves more than 1,000 customers, the majority of whom are located in the New York City metropolitan area.

Merit invested both subordinated debt and equity to support the acquisition.