H.I.G. Capital has acquired Patriot Pickle from Swander Pace Capital.
Patriot Pickle is a maker of pickles and other fermented products including sauerkraut, peppers, and pickled green tomatoes that are sold in a range of cuts, flavors, and packaging formats including foodservice pails, retail quarts, and single-serve pouches.
The company’s private label and branded products – sold under the K&Z, Regal Crown Foods, Natural Harvest, PickleAde, Farm Ridge Foods, and First Place brands – are sold through the foodservice channel to distributors, restaurant chains, supermarkets, and delis. Wayne, New Jersey-headquartered Patriot Pickle was founded in 2004 and has more than 115,000 square feet of production facilities. The company is led by Bill McEntee, its founder and president, and Adam Ricci, the company’s chief operating officer.
Swander Pace first invested in Patriot Pickle in April 2021. “Managing the complexity and intensity of rapidly growing businesses is hard work but partnering with Swander Pace made this process easier, and we had fun along the way. SPC’s strategic perspective, network, and broader insights were key enablers of the team’s success,” said Mr. McEntee.
“Patriot Pickle’s impressive platform has grown significantly over the years by delivering on its commitment to the highest quality pickles and best-in-class service,” said Justin Reyna, a managing director at H.I.G. “We are pleased to partner with Bill, Adam, and the Patriot team and look forward to supporting the company in its organic and acquisition-driven growth initiatives.”
H.I.G. specializes in providing debt and equity capital to small and medium-sized companies and invests in management buyouts, recapitalizations, and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
H.I.G. is an experienced investor in the food and beverage industry with prior investments that include Lipari Foods (sold in 2022 to Littlejohn), Albertville Quality Foods (sold in 2017 to OK Foods), Tastes on the Fly (sold in 2023 to Paradies Lagardère), Ready Pac Foods (sold in 2017 to Bonduelle SA), Quick Restaurants (acquired in 2021), and Puerto de Indias (acquired in 2018).
MidCap Financial was the joint bookrunner and joint lead arranger on a senior secured credit facility to back the buy of Patriot Pickle. Managing Director T.J. Ceravolo led the MidCap transaction team. MidCap, in alliance with its investment manager Apollo Capital Management, is a middle-market-focused, specialty finance firm that provides debt instruments of $10 million to $750 million to companies across all industries.
Swander Pace invests in middle-market consumer products companies that have revenues of up to $500 million. Sectors of interest include food and beverage, body and wellness, and home and family. Swander Pace is headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices near New York City in Bedminster, New Jersey, and near Toronto in Mississauga, Ontario.
“It was a pleasure to work with the Patriot Pickle team. The team’s hard work and dedication have enabled a fantastic result and are a great example of SPC’s ability to partner with a founder to help accelerate growth and value. Patriot Pickle is a leader in the pickled and fermented foods category and is well-positioned for the future. We wish the team all the success going forward, and we are confident that Patriot Pickle will continue to deliver for its customers in the many years to come,” said Corby Reese and Tyler Matlock, managing directors at Swander Pace in a released statement.
William Blair and BMO Capital Markets were the financial advisors to H.I.G. on the purchase of Patriot Pickle.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | January 19, 2024
