GlacierPoint Enterprises, a portfolio company of Mill Point Capital, has acquired Cool River Beverages, a specialty beverage distributor.
Mill Point formed GlacierPoint in September 2021 in partnership with Jim Schubauer, the former CEO of specialty food distributor Dot Foods, to acquire E&M Logistics, a Bronx, New York-based direct store delivery (DSD) distributor of ice cream, frozen and fresh foods, and beverages to New York Metro area-based grocery store chains, independent supermarkets, delis, drugstores, convenience store chains, and foodservice customers. Mr. Schubauer leads GlacierPoint as its CEO and executive chairman, and he is also a Mill Point executive partner.
Bronx, New York-based Cool River was founded in 2019 by Martin Kelly and is the exclusive DSD distributor of Nestlé -branded beverages throughout the NY Metro area.
The buy of Cool River is GlacierPoint’s sixth add-on acquisition and follows the buys of New Jersey-based Jack & Jill (December 2021), New York-based A. Panza & Sons (March 2022), North Carolina-based Southern Ice Cream and Gourmet Foods (June 2022), New York-based Gillette Creamery (June 2022), and New York-based Marina Ice Cream (August 2022).
As a result of these add-on acquisitions, GlacierPoint is now a distributor of fresh and frozen products, beverages, dairy, and dry products across a service territory that spans from South Carolina to the US/Canadian border.
“The Cool River acquisition is highly accretive to the GlacierPoint platform as it further expands our distribution solution with the addition of a broad beverage offering, immediately transforming us into a fully diversified logistics platform that includes both frozen foods and temperature-controlled beverages,” said Mr. Schubauer. “Combined with GlacierPoint’s differentiated customer relationships, DSD distribution network and operational expertise, our new beverages segment will be a tremendous growth engine for the combined business going forward.”
“Our commercial partnership with both Cool River and Martin Kelly made this transaction a logical next step in GlacierPoint’s evolution,” said Jake Giuffrida, a vice president of Mill Point. “We are thrilled to diversify our platform and continue our support of GlacierPoint’s growth.”
New York City-based Mill Point makes control-oriented investments in North America-based lower middle-market industrial, business services, and IT services companies. Mill Point closed its second fund, Mill Point Capital Partners II LP, at its hard cap of $886 million in February 2021. The firm’s inaugural institutional fund, Mill Point Capital Partners LP, closed at its hard cap of $450 million in May 2018.
© 2023 Private Equity Professional | December 13, 2023
