CIC Partners Announces Sale of L&L Foods
L&L is a leading provider of high-volume, single-serve/portion-control packages of food products. The Company’s products are primarily used in prepared salad packages and in fast-growing food-away-from-home venues, such as quick-serve-restaurants, cash & carry outlets and airlines. L&L offers unique formulations, sourcing and packaging capabilities to a number of leading food brands. The Company will continue to be led by CEO & founder John Pooley, who has extensive experience in supply chain and the food industry.
“Our partnership with John Pooley has been a tremendous success. We’re very proud of what we have accomplished over a short period of time,” said Amir Yoffe, Chairman of L&L Foods and Partner at CIC. “John has done an outstanding job leading L&L, building a deep team of talented and seasoned industry executives, and executing against a robust pipeline of new projects and customers. We believe L&L is well positioned to capitalize on future growth opportunities.”
CIC originally partnered with John Pooley in October 2012 to support further growth in the Company. Since CIC’s acquisition, L&L expanded its leadership team, added significant production capabilities, built a second production facility in Ohio, upgraded financial and operational reporting systems, and successfully grew its customer base. As a result, the Company has more than tripled in size in less than three years, generating a strong return for CIC’s investors.
John Pooley added, “I am extremely grateful for the partnership with CIC Partners. CIC has been instrumental in providing the capital and strategic guidance to help position L&L as a leader in our industry. We are thankful for their advice, counsel, and hard work along the way. It has been a great team effort.”
Houlihan Lokey acted as exclusive financial advisor to L&L and Norton Rose Fulbright served as legal advisor.
Peacock Engineering is a current portfolio company of Charlesbank Capital Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm.
ABOUT CIC PARTNERS
CIC Partners is a middle-market private equity firm that invests in growth-oriented companies primarily in the food, restaurant and energy industries. CIC manages the personal capital of its investment team, Operating Partners and strategic investors and seeks to partner with owner-operators, founders and management teams. CIC looks for opportunities where it can leverage the collective experience of its investment team and its Operating Partners, who are successful CEO’s and entrepreneurs, to guide, support and add value to portfolio companies. Based in Dallas, Texas, the firm has been generating wealth in private-equity investing for its investors and management teams for over 25 years. For additional information, please visit www.cicpartners.com.
ABOUT L&L FOODS
L&L Foods, headquartered in Anaheim, California, is a high volume niche food packaging company that specializes in portion control packaging solutions. The company offers formulation and sourcing capabilities through direct relationships with suppliers and focuses on both component and assembly packaging. For more information, please visit www.llfoodsinc.com.
ABOUT PEACOCK ENGINEERING
Founded by Harold Peacock in 1942, Peacock Engineering Company is a focused food manufacturer and one of the largest providers of integrated supply chain and packaging solutions to the consumer food industry. The company specializes in refrigerated, frozen, and shelf-stable primary processing and packaging for many category-leading brands. Peacock operates five facilities totaling nearly two million square feet located in the greater Chicago area. For more information, please visit www.peacockeng.com.