BERKELEY, Calif. and
BELLVUE, Colo., Oct. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sovos Brands
("Sovos"), a food and beverage company backed by Advent
International ("Advent"), today announced that it has signed a
merger agreement under which noosa yoghurt, LLC ("noosa"), a
fast-growing premium yoghurt manufacturer also backed by Advent,
will expand Sovos Brands into the yoghurt category.
The transaction adds another exciting brand to the Sovos
portfolio, which also includes Michael
Angelo's and Rao's Homemade. Sovos' mission is to acquire
premium, on-trend brands with high-quality products that have
significant growth opportunities, combining industry expertise with
fresh thinking to bring authentic, delicious food into more
homes.
noosa was co-founded in 2009 by Koel Thomae, an Australian
expat, and Rob Graves, a
Colorado dairy farmer, who set out
to bring the Aussie-style yoghurt with a creamy texture and
sweet-tart flavor profile to the U.S. market. noosa boasts
impressive consumer loyalty with premium positioning, and is made
with whole milk, a touch of wildflower North American honey and
real fruit purées on a family farm in Bellvue, Colorado. Sovos values noosa's unique
culture and its commitment to Colorado and plans to continue to manufacture
products at the Bellvue
facility.
Headquartered in Berkeley,
California, and led by experienced consumer packaged goods
executives, Sovos focuses on acquiring high-quality brands in
on-trend categories with the potential to accelerate growth by
investing in distribution, marketing, production and product
innovation. noosa is the third brand to join the Sovos portfolio in
the last two years. In January 2017,
Sovos acquired Michael Angelo's
Gourmet Foods, a leading producer of premium, authentic frozen
Italian entrées, and in July 2017
purchased Rao's Specialty Foods Inc., which produces the leading
super premium pasta sauce and other Italian specialty foods.
"noosa fits perfectly into our portfolio of one-of-a-kind brands
in the food and beverage sector, and we have been impressed by its
compelling growth opportunities, attractive consumer demographics
and talented employee base," said Todd
Lachman, President and CEO of Sovos Brands. "noosa shares
our unwavering commitment to authentic, delicious-tasting products
using only the highest quality ingredients. Our team brings
significant experience across food and beverage categories, and we
see a number of attractive opportunities to grow the noosa brand as
we expand Sovos Brands into the yoghurt category."
According to Bill Johnson,
Chairman of both the noosa and Sovos Boards of Directors and former
Chairman, CEO and President of H.J. Heinz, Sovos will guide noosa
into its next phase of growth while remaining true to the brand's
standard of making the finest yoghurt with the finest ingredients.
"With the addition of noosa, Sovos will become a more powerful
force in the food and beverage sector," said Johnson. "I've had a
chance to work first-hand with the team at Sovos, and they bring a
wealth of knowledge and capability that will help noosa continue to
scale and grow its brand. As part of Sovos, noosa will continue to
create the same great 'farm-to-fridge' products that consumers
expect, and I'm excited about what our companies can achieve
together."
Advent acquired a majority interest in noosa in November 2014, and during its ownership has
worked with the company's founders and management team to
accelerate growth. Over the past four years, noosa has more than
tripled its sales, market share and local production capacity in
Bellvue, introduced more than 25
new flavors and sizes, and increased distribution from 5,000 stores
to 25,000 nationwide.
"noosa's merger into Sovos is a clear and logical next step for
both companies, as they share the same brand and customer-centric
values and growth goals," said Jeff
Case, a Managing Director at Advent. "noosa has established
itself as a market leader in the premium yoghurt category, and we
are confident that it will be well positioned for continued success
as part of Sovos Brands. We look forward to working with Sovos to
identify new growth opportunities across all their brands."
Advent International has significant investment experience in
the retail, consumer and leisure industry. Over the past 28 years,
the firm has invested more than $10.9
billion in 75 companies in the sector across 22 countries
worldwide. In addition to Sovos and noosa, recent North American
investments include First Watch, lululemon athletica (NASDAQ:
LULU), The Coffee Bean & Tea
Leaf, Serta Simmons Bedding,
Party City (NYSE: PRTY), Bojangles' (NASDAQ: BOJA) and Five
Below.
Deutsche Bank is serving as financial advisor to noosa, and
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is acting as noosa's legal counsel.
McDermott Will and Emery is acting
as Sovos' legal counsel.
The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of
2018.
ABOUT NOOSA YOGHURT
noosa was founded in 2009 by an Aussie expat and a Colorado dairy farmer who set out to bring the
best-tasting yoghurt to the U.S. noosa yoghurt is made with whole
milk and a touch of wildflower North American honey on a family
farm in Bellvue, Colorado, noosa
is currently available in a variety of unique flavors and sizes,
ranging from 4-oz. 4-packs and 5.5-oz. mates mix-ins to 8-oz. and
24-oz. tubs. For more information, please visit
www.noosayoghurt.com.
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. The brands in
its portfolio, Michael Angelo's and
Rao's Homemade are, respectively, a leading producer of premium,
authentic frozen Italian entrées and producer of super premium
pasta sauces and other Italian specialty foods. Sovos Brands has
the soul of a startup, the experience of an industry leader and the
financial backing of Advent International, one of the world's
largest private equity firms. The company has a one-of-a-kind
approach to brands, business and people—in fact, the only thing
that's old school about the business 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 www.sovosbrands.com, Michael Angelo's Gourmet Foods at
www.michaelangelos.com, and Rao's Homemade at www.raos.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 over 340 private equity transactions in 41 countries
and as of June 30, 2018, had
$41 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.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/noosa-yoghurt-to-merge-into-sovos-brands-300740639.html
SOURCE Sovos Brands