BOSTON and AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 1,
2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Advent International, one of the
largest and most experienced global private equity investors, today
announced that Sovos Brands, a new company formed by Advent, has
completed the acquisition of Michael
Angelo's Gourmet Foods Inc., a leading producer of premium,
authentic frozen Italian entrées. Financial terms were not
disclosed.
Michael Angelo's is the first
investment by Sovos Brands, a new type of food and beverage company
that seeks to acquire and build one-of-a-kind brands to establish a
scale player in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry.
Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay
Area and led by seasoned CPG executives, Sovos Brands will
focus on high-quality brands in on-trend categories with the
potential to accelerate growth by investing in distribution,
marketing, production and product innovation. The company, whose
name is inspired by the Latin term sovos, which means unique
or one of a kind, has a distinctive approach to people and brands,
working to ensure that both can really thrive.
Spearheading the acquisition and value creation initiatives at
Sovos Brands will be a team headed by Todd
Lachman, President and CEO, Larry
Bodner, CFO, and Bill
Johnson, Chairman. Mr. Lachman has a 25-year record of
delivering growth and value creation as a senior executive at major
consumer products companies, including Mars, Del Monte Foods, H.J.
Heinz and Procter & Gamble. Mr. Bodner has over 25 years of
experience as a performance-driven, operationally focused financial
executive at companies including Big Heart Pet Brands, Del Monte
Foods, Walt Disney and Procter &
Gamble. Mr. Johnson was formerly chairman, CEO and president of
H.J. Heinz. He had a distinguished 31-year career at Heinz, where
he grew top- and bottom-line results across multiple segments to
transform the company into a global food industry leader.
Michael Angelo's Gourmet Foods is
a family-owned and operated business with a passion for quality and
talent for making authentic Italian prepared meals. Chairman and
CEO Michael Angelo and his mother
Sara have been cooking Italian food the right way for years,
bringing traditional Italian cooking methods and flavors to a full
line of single-serve and multi-serve meals found in the freezer
sections. All products are made from scratch in small batches using
the highest-quality, fresh ingredients, and are "clean label" with
no fillers or preservatives. As Michael likes to say, "If you can't
find it in Mom's kitchen, you won't find it in our food."
Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Michael
Angelo's has grown organically from a small, regional
business to a national prepared meal brand, generating
approximately $100 million in gross
sales. The company's meals are available at grocery stores, natural
food stores and warehouse club stores nationwide.
"Michael Angelo's is a highly
authentic, great-tasting, frozen Italian entrée brand well
respected in the industry for its clean-label offering," said
Todd Lachman, President and CEO of
Sovos Brands. "The company exemplifies the types of businesses we
are looking to acquire in the food and beverage space. It is a
unique, leading branded player offering delicious food that meets
today's lifestyle and consumer demand for real, clean ingredients.
We believe Michael Angelo's has
significant potential for growth through increased awareness,
distribution and new product development, and we look forward to
working with Michael Angelo and the
management team to pursue these opportunities."
Michael Angelo, Chairman and CEO
of Michael Angelo's Gourmet Foods,
said, "Our new partnership with Sovos Brands represents a perfect
fit for our company. Sovos Brands is a lean, nimble organization
led by experienced industry executives who share our long-term
vision for the business. With their investments in production,
distribution and product innovation, we believe we can accelerate
Michael Angelo's growth and continue
our mission of creating the highest-quality Italian entrées in the
freezer aisle. I look forward to partnering with Todd Lachman and his team on Michael Angelo's next stage of development."
David Roberts, a Principal at
Advent International, said, "The acquisition of Michael Angelo's is an important first step in
our plan to build a food and beverage company of significant scale.
Advent and the team at Sovos Brands will focus on supporting
Michael Angelo's expansion while
pursuing acquisitions of other high-potential businesses from
founders, financial sponsors and large CPG companies."
Advent International has significant investment experience in
the retail, consumer and leisure industry. Over the past 26 years,
the firm has invested in more than 70 companies in the sector
across 20 countries worldwide. Recent North American investments
include Noosa Yoghurt, lululemon athletica (NASDAQ: LULU), The
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf,
Serta Simmons Bedding, Party City
(NYSE: PRTY), Bojangles' (NASDAQ: BOJA) and Five Below (NASDAQ:
FIVE).
Piper Jaffray served as financial
advisor and The Giannuzzi Group served as legal advisor to
Michael Angelo's on the transaction.
Deutsche Bank served as financial advisor and Weil, Gotshal &
Manges served as legal advisor to Advent International.
ABOUT MICHAEL ANGELO'S GOURMET
FOODS
Michael Angelo's Gourmet Foods is
a family-owned and operated business with a passion for quality and
a talent for making authentic Italian prepared meals. Chairman and
CEO Michael Angelo and his mother
Sara have been cooking Italian food the right way for years,
bringing traditional Italian cooking methods and flavors to a full
line of single-serve meals and multi-serve meals found in the
freezer sections. Michael Angelo's
products are always free of additives found in other frozen and
prepared foods. As Michael likes to say, "If you can't find it in
Mom's kitchen, you won't find it in our food." Michael Angelo's meals are available at grocery
stores, natural food stores and warehouse club stores nationwide.
For more information, visit www.michaelangelos.com or connect with
us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/michaelangelos), Twitter
(https://twitter.com/Michael_Angelos), YouTube
(www.youtube.com/user/MAFieldtoTable) or Pinterest
(www.pinterest.com/magourmetfoods).
ABOUT SOVOS BRANDS
Sovos Brands is a new kind of food and beverage company with a
mission to acquire and build one-of-a-kind brands. Sovos has the
soul of a startup, the experience of an industry leader and the
financial backing of Advent International. Sovos Brands has a
one-of-a-kind approach to brands, business and people—in fact, the
only thing that's old school about the company is the name,
inspired by the old Latin term sovos, which means unique or
one of a kind. This one-of-a- kind vision leads the company's focus
on people and brands, working to ensure that both can really
thrive. Find out more about Sovos Brands at Sovosbrands.com.
ABOUT ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the largest and
most experienced global private equity investors. The firm has
invested in more than 320 private equity transactions in 40
countries and as of September 30,
2016, had $42 billion in
assets under management. With offices on four continents, Advent
has established a globally integrated team of over 190 investment
professionals across North
America, Europe,
Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on investments in five
core sectors, including business and financial services;
healthcare; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and
technology, media and telecom. After more than 30 years dedicated
to international investing, Advent remains committed to partnering
with management teams to deliver sustained revenue and earnings
growth for its portfolio companies. For more information, visit
www.adventinternational.com.
NOTE TO EDITORS
Biographies of Sovos Brands Key Executives
Todd Lachman, President and
CEO
Mr. Lachman has a 25-year record of delivering significant
growth and value creation at major consumer products companies.
Most recently, he was a senior advisor to Advent International,
evaluating opportunities in the consumer space. Prior to that role,
Mr. Lachman served as global president of Mars Petcare, the world
leader in the $70 billion pet-food
category, where he drove market share gains through organic growth
and the multibillion-dollar acquisition of Iams/Eukanuba from
Procter & Gamble. Before Mars Petcare, Mr. Lachman was
president of Mars Chocolate North America and Latin America, where he significantly
accelerated growth and increased margins through brand
revitalization and a comprehensive cost-reduction program.
Prior to Mars, Mr. Lachman served as executive vice president at
Del Monte Foods Company, where he, along with Larry Bodner, led a portfolio realignment and
the acquisition of the Meow Mix and Milkbone brands. Previously, he
also held senior management roles at H.J. Heinz Company and Procter
& Gamble. At H.J. Heinz, Mr. Lachman worked directly under the
guidance of Bill Johnson, who served
as chairman, CEO and president.
Larry Bodner, CFO
Larry Bodner has over 25 years of
experience as a performance-driven, operationally focused financial
executive with significant M&A experience. Most recently, he
was a senior advisor to Advent International, evaluating
opportunities in the consumer space. Prior to that role, Mr. Bodner
was the chief financial officer at Big Heart Pet Brands, a leader
in the U.S. pet-snacks and pet-food categories. He led
transformational change in the portfolio through extensive M&A,
investment in organic growth as well as cost savings.
Prior to Big Heart Pet Brands, Mr. Bodner was the chief
financial officer of Del Monte Foods and before Del Monte, he held senior management roles at
Walt Disney Company and Procter & Gamble. Mr. Bodner currently
serves on the Board of Directors of Hearthside Foods and Hostess
Brands.
Bill Johnson, Chairman
Bill Johnson is former chairman,
chief executive officer and president of H.J. Heinz Company. He had
a distinguished 31-year career at Heinz, where he was CEO for over
15 years. Under his leadership, Heinz grew top- and bottom-line
results across multiple segments to transform the company into a
global food industry leader. In addition to his role as CEO and
president, Mr. Johnson held a number of leadership positions
throughout the organization, including chief operating officer and
senior vice president and served on the Heinz board of directors
for 20 years. He began his career at Heinz in 1982 as general
manager of new businesses for Heinz U.S.A.
Most recently, Mr. Johnson has been engaged as an independent
operating partner with Advent International, where he has served as
chairman of Advent portfolio company Noosa Yoghurt, a premium
yoghurt manufacturer. In two years under Advent's ownership, Noosa
has invested in product innovation and production capacity,
increased distribution and grown its gross sales from approximately
$70 million to over $150 million. Mr. Johnson also serves on the
boards of Emerson Electric Co., PepsiCo and UPS, where he is lead
director. He previously served on the boards of The PNC Financial
Services Group, The Clorox Company, Georgia-Pacific LLC, the
Amerada Hess Corporation and the Grocery Manufacturers
Association.
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SOURCE Advent International