Advent International has formed Sovos Brands to acquire Michael Angelo’s Gourmet Foods, a producer of frozen Italian entrées.
Michael Angelo’s has grown organically from a small, regional business to a national prepared meal brand, and has approximately $100 million in annual sales. The company’s single-serve and multi-serve meals are made in small batches and include a variety of frozen pasta dishes, including lasagna, baked ziti, chicken parmesan and shrimp scampi. The company’s products are sold through grocery stores, natural food stores and warehouse club stores nationwide. Michael Angelo’s is a family-owned and operated business that was founded in 1983 by Michael Angelo and his mother, Sara. The company is headquartered in Austin (www.michaelangelos.com).
Michael Angelo’s is the first investment by Sovos Brands (sovos is Latin for unique or one-of-a-kind). According to Advent, the goal for the new platform is to acquire and build one-of-a-kind brands to establish a scale player in the consumer packaged goods industry. Sovos will focus on high-quality brands in on-trend categories that have the potential to accelerate growth through investment in distribution, marketing, production and product innovation.
“The acquisition of Michael Angelo’s is an important first step in our plan to build a food and beverage company of significant scale,” said David Roberts, a Principal at Advent International. “Advent and the team at Sovos will focus on supporting Michael Angelo’s expansion while pursuing acquisitions of other high-potential businesses from founders, financial sponsors and large consumer packaged goods companies.”
Sovos Brands is led by Todd Lachman, President and CEO; Larry Bodner, CFO; and Bill Johnson, Chairman. Mr. Lachman has a 25-year record as a senior executive at major consumer products companies, including Mars, Del Monte Foods, H.J. Heinz and Procter & Gamble. Mr. Bodner has over 25 years of experience as an operationally focused financial executive at companies including Big Heart Pet Brands, Del Monte Foods, Walt Disney and Procter & Gamble. Mr. Johnson was formerly Chairman, CEO and President of H.J. Heinz. He had a 31-year career at Heinz, where he grew top- and bottom-line results across multiple segments to transform the company into a global food industry leader. Sovos is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area (www.sovosbrands.com).
Advent first partnered with Messrs. Lachman and Bodner as senior advisors to the firm in March 2016 to identify and evaluate investments in the consumer products space, specifically in the food, home and personal care sub-sectors, with an emphasis on situations where they could provide direct executive leadership.
“Michael Angelo’s exemplifies the types of businesses we are looking to acquire in the food and beverage space,” said Mr. Lachman. “It is a unique, leading branded player offering delicious food that meets today’s lifestyle and consumer demand for real, clean ingredients. We believe Michael Angelo’s has significant potential for growth through increased awareness, distribution and new product development, and we look forward to working with Michael Angelo and the management team to pursue these opportunities.”
Advent International invests in companies active in business and financial services; healthcare; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology, media and telecom. The firm is owned and operated by 45 partners and governed by a group of 14 managing partners. Advent has offices in 16 countries and employs 180 investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Boston, Advent has $42 billion in assets under management and has completed more than 300 buyout and private equity transactions (www.adventinternational.com).
Piper Jaffray (www.piperjaffray.com) served as the financial advisor and The Giannuzzi Group (www.gglaw.us) served as legal advisor to Michael Angelo’s on this transaction. Deutsche Bank (www.db.com) served as financial advisor and Weil, Gotshal & Manges (www.weil.com) served as legal advisor to Advent International.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | February 3, 2017
