H.I.G. Capital has acquired Lipari Foods from Sterling Investment Partners. H.I.G. is partnering with the founding Lipari family and the current management team on this transaction.
Lipari is a distributor of largely perishable perimeter-of-the-store, specialty, and branded food products. The company’s SKUs total more than 25,000 items and span the deli, bakery, dairy, specialty retail, seafood, packaging, confections, ethnic, and organic categories. Lipari has approximately 6,300 customers – primarily small and mid-sized grocery store chains – across 14 states and generates approximately $1 billion of annual revenues.
Lipari has approximately 1,500 employees and operates a 725,000 sq. ft. distribution and food manufacturing facility near Detroit in Warren, MI. Jim Lipari, who began his career delivering BBQ sauce from the back of his Buick station wagon, founded Lipari Foods in 1963 (www.liparifoods.com).
“We are very excited about partnering with H.I.G. to support Lipari’s strategic growth plan,” said Thom Lipari, President and CEO of Lipari. “The company continues to have numerous opportunities to expand and H.I.G.’s experience and resources, particularly around M&A, will help us continue our successful growth trajectory.”
Sterling acquired Lipari Foods in October 2014. During its term of ownership the company completed eight add-on acquisitions as follows: Heagy Foods, a Lancaster, PA-based specialty deli wholesaler (November 2018); Jerusalem Foods, a Dearborn, MI-based Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food company (October 2018); Jim’s Cheese, a Waterloo, WI-based cheese cutting and packaging firm (March 2018); Dairy Fresh Foods, a Taylor, MI-based food distributor (September 2017); the specialty and gourmet business of Canton, OH-based Leo A. Dick & Sons (January 2016); Clover Mountain Foods, a Bridgeville, PA-based food distributor (January 2015); Soderholm Wholesale Foods, a Sun Prairie, WI-based distributor of natural, organic, vegetarian and gluten-free food items (December 2014); and Dawn’s Fresh Foods, a Portage, WI food distributor (December 2014).
“Lipari is an impressive platform that has grown significantly over the years by expanding upon its Midwestern roots,” said Justin Reyna, a managing director at H.I.G. “We are very excited to partner with the Lipari management team, who has a proven track record of profitable growth. The company’s significant customer value proposition, diverse product portfolio, and unparalleled distribution capabilities uniquely position it to capitalize on growth opportunities within the food distribution, import, and manufacturing markets. We look forward to supporting Lipari and investing in both organic and acquisition-driven growth in its next stage of evolution.”
H.I.G. specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies and invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of manufacturing and service businesses. H.I.G. has more than $30 billion of capital under management. The firm is based in Miami with additional offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (www.higcapital.com).
Sterling Investment Partners, the seller of Lipari Foods, invests in companies with revenues of $100 million to $500 million and EBITDAs of $15 million to $40 million. Sectors of interest include business services, specialty manufacturing, value-added distribution, consumer, and transportation and logistics. Sterling was founded in 1991 and is based in Westport, CT (www.sterlinglp.com).
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | January 9, 2019
Goldner Hawn and Tonka Bay Equity Partners have sold Quest Events to TZP Group. Goldner Hawn and Tonka Bay acquired Quest in partnership with the company’s management team in June 2015 from PVB Capital, Gemini Investors, and Harbert Mezzanine Partners.
“Quest was a great investment and partnership for Goldner Hawn, Tonka Bay and the Quest management team,” said Jason Brass, a partner at Goldner Hawn. “During our ownership period Quest’s management team was able to accelerate its growth trajectory nearly doubling in size through new product offerings, international expansion and complementary acquisitions.”
Goldner Hawn invests from $10 million to $30 million in companies that have EBITDA greater than $5 million. Sectors of interest include specialty manufacturing, value-added distribution, consumer products, and business services. The firm was founded in 1989 and is based in Minneapolis (
“Quest has a market leading position, depth of products, and geographic reach providing its customers the best service and value proposition in the special events space,” said Steve Soderling, a partner at Tonka Bay. “It has been a pleasure working with Lee and the Quest management team. They have been great partners and are well-positioned to continue to leverage their market leading position to drive the next stage of their growth.”
Tonka Bay invests in manufacturing, value-added distribution and business services companies that have EBITDAs greater than $2 million. The firm is based in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka (
“We are thrilled about our investment in Quest and partnership with a terrific management team,” said Vlad Gutin, a partner with TZP. “We look forward to building on the company’s impressive track record and solidifying Quest’s leadership position by supporting its continued organic growth and strategic acquisition efforts.”
TZP Group makes control investments of between $20 million and $100 million in companies with enterprise values between $50 million and $250 million and EBITDA between $8 million and $35 million. Sectors of interest include business and consumer services. The firm is headquartered in New York (
Shorehill Capital has acquired Functional Devices in partnership with the company’s senior management team and its owner Ken Rittmann.
“We have a long history in the building automation controls industry and believe it will continue to benefit from several positive long-term demand drivers,” said Dave Hawkins, a managing partner at Shorehill Capital. “We are excited to partner with the company’s management team and Ken Rittmann to build upon the company’s 50-year history of providing its customers with high-quality products and customer service.”
Shorehill Capital makes control investments in North American-based middle market companies that have from $3 million to $15 million in EBITDA and enterprise values of $25 million to $150 million. Sectors of interest include engineered industrial products, industrial services, and value-added distribution. The firm was founded in 2013 by its managing partners Brian Simmons and Dave Hawkins, both former senior executives of CHS Capital. Shorehill is based in Chicago (
ZSi-Foster, a manufacturer and supplier of clamping, coupling and strut products and a portfolio company of Pfingsten Partners, has acquired Florida Strut from its owner David Fisher.
“Florida Strut’s customer-focused approach to quality manufacturing made it a perfect fit for the ZSi-Foster platform,” said Phillip Bronsteatter, a principal at Pfingsten. “This acquisition is a critical step in our strategic plan to build the leading, national manufacturer and distributor of highly engineered clamps, couplers and support systems.”
Pfingsten invests in middle-market manufacturing, distribution and business services companies that have transaction values ranging from $15 million to $100 million, revenues from $20 million to $150 million, and EBITDA between $3 million and $12 million. Since completing its first investment in 1991, Pfingsten has acquired 134 such companies through five funds with total commitments of $1.3 billion. The firm is based in Chicago with representative offices in India and China (
