Gourmet Culinary Partners (GCP), a portfolio company of AUA Private Equity Partners, has acquired Van-Lang Enterprises. This is the fourth add-on for GCP since its formation by AUA in May 2019.
Van-Lang is a family-owned manufacturer and distributor of appetizers and hors d’oeuvres with national distribution and a strong presence in the Midwest as well as self-distribution capabilities in the Chicago marketplace.
Van-Lang’s products include spring rolls; egg rolls; potstickers and wontons; skewers and satays; kabobs; mini pizzas and calzones; mini quiches; flatbreads; and vegan, seafood, poultry and beef specialties. Customers of the company include luxury hotels, private clubs, banquet houses, and caterers. Van Lang was founded in 1986 and has a 20,000 sq. ft. production facility and headquarters near Chicago in Countryside, Illinois.
AUA formed Gourmet Culinary Partners (GCP) in May 2019 as a platform to acquire US-based premium specialty food manufacturers serving the foodservice and retail sectors. With the acquisition of Van-Lang, GCP has now acquired four companies and achieves a national footprint that allows the company to serve national accounts.
The three earlier buys were Gourmet Kitchen, a Neptune, New Jersey-based manufacturer of specialty prepared foods for hotels, restaurants, universities, corporate campuses, and distributors. The company’s products include appetizers, hors d’oeuvres, breakfast items, ethnic products, and desserts (acquired in March 2019); Kabobs, a Lake City, Georgia-based manufacturer of hors d’oeuvres, side items and ethnic and breakfast products that are sold to foodservice operators, hotels, convention centers, corporate campuses, professional caterers and universities (acquired in April 2019); and Gourmet Foods, a Rancho Dominguez, California-headquartered manufacturer and distributor of specialty prepared foods including soups, sauces, hors d’oeuvres, appetizers, side items, and breakfast dishes serving the airline, hospitality, restaurant, catering, retail and corporate campuses industries (acquired in July 2019).
With the acquisition of Van-Lang, GCP now has a national footprint that allows the company to serve national accounts. “We are excited to bring together four highly complementary industry leaders to create a national, end-to-end foodservice platform focused on the hospitality, restaurant, airline, catering, educational, and retail sectors,” said Andy Unanue, the managing partner of AUA Private Equity. “The acquisition of Van-Lang provides national scale for GCP.”
“We are thrilled to continue to expand the GCP platform through the acquisition of Van-Lang and the ability to offer a true national presence,” said Steven Flyer, a partner of AUA Private Equity. “Through the GCP platform, AUA Private Equity has created a leading one-stop-shop for a customer’s complete culinary needs. Our goal is to be the partner of choice to chefs, culinary professionals, and operators nationwide.”
The buy of Van-Lang was led by Mr. Flyer, Vice President Ari David, Associate Greg Conway, and Winter Associate Nicolas Pflaum.
AUA Private Equity makes equity investments from $20 million to $75 million in companies with at least $5 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include consumer products and services with a focus on family-owned businesses and companies benefiting from the growth of the US Hispanic population. AUA is headquartered in New York City.
© 2020 Private Equity Professional | January 17, 2020