Nestle's fundraising arm, Kathryn Beich, set to go solo. (Newsletter).

Kathryn Beich, the Bloomington, Ill.-based fundraising arm of Nestle USA will operate as an independent company next month, although it will continue to maintain the exclusive rights to distribute Nestle's branded confectionery products for a set period of time. New York City-based Lincolnshire

Equity Fund II, L.P., purchased the business unit from Nestle with full support of Kathryn Beich's management team, which will continue to run the company. Moreover, Kathryn Beich will now be able to diversify its product line beyond confectionery items, thus expanding products and services to better meet the needs of the fundraising market. In turn, Nestle, which will continue to produce confections for Kathryn Beich, keeps a dedicated distributor focused on the fundraising channel.

"This agreement allows both companies to focus on what they do best," says Mike Holzworth, vice president and general manager of Kathryn Belch.