Trivest Partners has acquired North Star Seafood, a distributor of fresh and frozen seafood products. The North Star transaction represents the second platform company investment in Trivest Fund V and Trivest’s sixth overall investment in 2013.
“We are delighted that North Star identified Trivest as the best partner to help expand upon the company’s strong historical track record. We continue to be impressed not only with management’s ability to drive growth, but also their focus on the long-term success of their customers, vendors and other partners. We look forward to participating in North Star’s growth, both organically and through add-on acquisitions in the coming years,” said Chip Vandenberg, Partner with Trivest.
North Star distributes fresh and frozen seafood and other ancillary products to restaurants, hotels, resorts, country clubs, cruise lines, hospitals, retirement homes and wholesalers throughout the Southeastern United States and the Caribbean markets. North Star offers customers a variety of over 1,500 different products ranging from lobsters, fish, scallops, shrimp, mussels, oysters, squid, and other seafood and non-seafood products. The company was founded in 1992 and is based in Pompano Beach, FL (www.NorthStarSeafood.com).
Rick Burman, North Star’s Founder and CEO, along with the company’s current management team, will continue to lead the daily operations of North Star.
“Trivest has been a perfect match for our organization. We are grateful for their straightforward and transparent approach to doing business. With an over 20-year history of organic growth, North Star’s management team is excited about partnering with Trivest in the company’s next chapter of growth and expansion,” said Mr. Burman. “We look forward to working with Trivest to continue to build our distribution platform as we look to expand geographically as well as into other distribution channels.”
Trivest invests in founder or family owned businesses in the United States and Canada that have revenues of at least $25 million and cash flows of at least $5 million. Sectors of interest include business services, niche manufacturing, consumer products, and franchisors. The firm was founded in 1981 and has completed 200 transactions totaling more than $5 billion in value. Trivest is headquartered in Miami (www.trivest.com).
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-9-13
