Fresh Direct Produce, a portfolio company of Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Company (HKW), has acquired Emperor Specialty Foods. HKW acquired Fresh Direct Produce in December 2018.
Emperor is a distributor of mushrooms, pears, and other specialty fruits and vegetables. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Richmond, BC with an additional office in Dalian, China (www.emperorspecialtyfoods.com).
Fresh Direct Produce is a distributor of more than 1,000 fruit and vegetable items, including fresh, ethnic, tropical, organic, and specialty produce, to the Western Canadian market. The company’s value-added services include ripening, grading, machine packaging, and bagging. The company has three distribution centers, two in Vancouver (headquarters) and one in Calgary, with a total of 152,000 square feet. Fresh Direct is led by its CEO and co-founder Davis Yung (www.freshdirectproduce.com).
“With a talented management team and range of complementary products, we are confident Emperor will prove an important addition to Fresh Direct and play a critical role in our value-driven growth plan,” said Mr. Yung.
“The addition of Emperor’s products and customers, as well as a new location, will allow for smart, strategic growth opportunities,” said Kent Robinson, a partner of HKW and chairman of Fresh Direct. “This is an important step forward for Fresh Direct and we are excited for both teams. The acquisition is also strategically aligned within our health and wellness sector, a key area of focus for HKW.”
Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Company invests in companies with revenues between $20 million and $200 million and EBITDAs between $2 million and $20 million. Since 1982, HKW has completed 60 platform management buyouts of small middle-market companies throughout North America as well as 65 add-on acquisitions. The firm was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Indianapolis with an additional office in New York (www.hkwinc.com).
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | July 22, 2019