Oberweis Dairy has 2 potential buyers after filing for bankruptcy

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Oberweis Dairy may have found a potential buyer, days after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company announced Tuesday that it received a stalking horse bid to purchase its operating assets. The bid came from Brian Boomsma, founder of the local company Dutch Farms.

'We are thrilled to have a business leader like Brian Boomsma interested in investing in Oberweis and enabling the company to continue to move forward and prosper," Oberweis President Adam Kraber said in a news release. "We continue to be grateful to our loyal customers, vendors, and committed employees who have supported us through this process.'

Oberweis hopes to complete the sale in June.

It was also announced that the private equity firm Hoffman Family Companies wanted to start discussions to acquire the company's assets.

They say they plan to make a competitive offer.

The company filed for bankruptcy a week ago Friday.

Oberweis was started in 1915 by Peter Oberweis, a dairy farmer who began selling milk from the back of a horse-drawn wagon, according to the company's website. The company opened its first ice cream shop in 1951, and its second ice cream store in 1991. Oberweis Dairy now runs nearly 40 ice cream and dairy shops in Illinois and Missouri.

The company is owned by the family of former Illinois State Sen. Jim Oberweis, who served in the state legislature from 2013 to 2021. He also ran twice for U.S. Senate in 2002 and 2004, and ran for governor in 2006, but lost in the Republican primary all three times. He also ran for Congress in 2008, but lost to Democrat Bill Foster.