BCP Buys RP Foods
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BCP Buys RP Foods

RP Foods is the fourth platform investment for Benford's $200 million second fund which closed in May 2022

RP Foods is an importer of branded, private label, and B2B food and beverage products including corn flours and tostadas, coconut milk beverages, aloe vera drinks, oils, avocados, and cookies.

SOURCE: RP Foods

Benford Capital Partners (BCP) has acquired RP Foods, a Hispanic-focused food and beverage products company, in partnership with the company’s owners and senior management team.

RP Foods is an importer of branded, private label, and B2B food and beverage products including corn flours and tostadas, coconut milk beverages, aloe vera drinks, oils, avocados, and cookies from Mexico, Asia, and Europe.

RP Foods sells to retailers and consumer products companies across the United States. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Dallas. RP Foods is led by founder and CEO Guillermo Trevino, and Vice President of Sales Longinos Zuniga.

“We are excited to partner with BCP in RP Foods’ next phase of growth,” said Mr. Trevino. “The company is well positioned for continued success, and we believe it will be accelerated by BCP’s investment experience in food and beverage.”

Post closing, BCP and RP Foods plan to invest in sales and marketing, operational capabilities, and product portfolio expansion to drive organic growth. In addition, BCP and management will pursue add-on acquisitions of other Hispanic food and beverage companies.

“Guillermo and Longinos have built a great company with a long-term history of success,” said Ben Riefe, a managing director at BCP. “We are excited to build upon RP Foods’ strong foundation and execute our value creation plan in partnership with the management team.”

RP Foods is the fourth platform investment made by Benford Capital Partners II LP which closed at its hard cap in May 2022 with $200 million of limited partner capital. The three earlier platform buys were BSC Industries, a Massachusetts-based distributor of industrial automation and motion control products (August 2023); Legacy Bakehouse, a Wisconsin-based and family-owned developer and manufacturer of baked snack ingredients (April 2023); and Gum Products International, a business-to-business food ingredients company (August 2022).

Chicago-based Benford invests in lower middle-market companies that have revenues from $5 million to $100 million and EBITDA from $1 million to $10 million. Sectors of general interest include industrial technology, food and consumer products, B2B e-commerce, and agricultural products and services. Since its founding in 2004, Benford has acquired over 45 companies and currently owns 17 platform companies.

“RP Foods represents BCP’s 6th platform investment in the food and beverage sector, a continued area of focus for the firm,” said Brian Behm, a principal at BCP. “We look forward to leveraging BCP’s operating partners and executive advisors to support the RP Foods team as the company continues to grow.”

Generational Equity was the financial advisor to RP Foods on this transaction. The firm’s transaction team was led by Managing Director M&A Don Ho, Executive Managing Director M&A Michael Goss, Executive Managing Director and Group Leader Randy Kamin, and Vice President M&A Lance Thomasson.

“We believe that with Benford Capital Partners’ knowledge, synergy, and resources, RP Foods will be able to further accelerate growth, better serve its customers, and create more opportunities for its staff and strategic relationships,” said Mr. Ho. “Though we had a tremendous number of investors wanting to partner with RP Foods given our comprehensive M&A process, we knew Benford Capital was the right choice as they shared the same values, ethics, and culture as RP Foods.”

Generational Equity has 350 professionals located throughout 16 offices in North America and is headquartered in Dallas.

© 2023 Private Equity Professional | October 24, 2023

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