GS Foods Group, a portfolio company of Highview Capital and A&M Capital Partners, has acquired C&C Produce.
Kansas City-headquartered C&C is a distributor of produce products sourced from more than 100 local growers. The company’s 200,000 square foot warehouse, with 10 separate coolers that allows C&C to warehouse a large variety and inventory of products, is the largest produce warehouse in the Midwest and serves over 4,000 locations across Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
C&C was founded in 1992 by Nick Conforti and Joe Cali and they will continue to lead C&C’s operations from its current facilities in partnership with GS Foods.
“Building this company from the ground up has been a challenging and extremely rewarding venture, and we are incredibly proud of what we have built over the years,” said Mr. Conforti and Mr. Cali in a released statement. “Together with our dedicated team, we’ve grown from a local farm stand to one of the leading produce partners for grocers, retailers and school districts throughout the Midwest. This partnership with GS Foods is the next step in our journey as we continue to serve our communities and look down the road towards expanded opportunities.”
Highview and A&M formed GS Foods Group in October 2019 to acquire Gold Star Foods from Castle Harlan, and then immediately merged the company with Good Source Solutions, a portfolio company of Highview.
Gold Star is a food distributor serving the education, corrections, non-profit, business, and healthcare sectors. Withing education, the company serves more than 4,300 K-12 schools in 1,000 districts across 13 states and provides more than 6.5 million meals daily. Many of these meals are provided through federal and state programs for breakfasts and lunches that include program-approved healthy ingredients. Gold Star purchases products from more than 600 food manufacturers and farms, and sells over 7,500 products comprised of refrigerated, frozen and dry menu items as well as fresh bread and produce.
Good Source Solutions is a specialty food distributor to the education, corrections and foodservice sectors. Good Source’s products focus on center-of-plate items including poultry, meats, pasta, fruits, vegetables, bakery items, beverages, and snacks.
Today, Ontario, California-headquartered GS Foods has more than 8,000 customers and is led by CEO Sean Leer. “The acquisition of C&C represents an exciting, strategic expansion for GS Foods as we continue to build out our geographic footprint and product offerings,” said Mr. Leer.
The buy of C&C follows other recent add-on acquisitions by GS Foods including Ohio-based Classic Delight (July 2021), California-based School Lunch Products (June 2021), California-based Fresno Produce (January 2021), and California-based Hayes Distributing (January 2021). In addition to these four add-ons, GS Foods has opened new distribution centers in Pennsylvania (June 2021), Texas (July 2021), Colorado (July 2020) and Oregon (July 2020).
“GS Foods’ investment in C&C represents a significant, unique partnership in the foodservice distribution industry as the company continues to expand its capabilities and its national footprint,” said Steve Russell, a managing director at Highview. “We believe C&C’s unparalleled focus on their customers and commitment to high-quality, high-value products make them an excellent fit for GS Foods’ portfolio – and we look forward to seeing how this new partnership further builds upon their shared mission.”
Highview Capital, headquartered in Los Angeles, invests from $10 million to $125 million of equity in companies with revenues of $50 million to $500 million and EBITDA of $5 million to $50 million. Highview invests in many sectors and is effectively industry agnostic. The firm sources its capital from a $500 million evergreen fund and is backed by Karlin Asset Management, a Los Angeles-based investment company.
Greenwich, Connecticut-based A&M Capital Partners makes control and significant minority investment of $40 million to $150 million in North American-based companies that have from $10 million to $75 million in EBITDA. Sectors of interest include business services, industrials, healthcare, consumer and retail, government services, financial services, and energy services.
© 2021 Private Equity Professional | September 14, 2021