Aterian Investment Partners Enters Into Agreement To Acquire Hain Pure Protein

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May 10, 2019, 08:37 ET

NEW YORK, May 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Aterian Investment Partners ("Aterian"), a private investment firm, announces that one of its affiliates has entered into an agreement to acquire Hain Pure Protein (the "Company") in a carve-out transaction from The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. ("Hain Celestial")

Hain Pure Protein, principally located in Pennsylvania, is comprised of the Empire Kosher, Kosher Valley and FreeBird poultry brands. Empire Kosher, originally founded in 1938, is the largest fresh kosher poultry provider in the United States. FreeBird is a leading specialized, certified organic and antibiotic-free chicken provider to the foodservice, retail and home-delivered meal channels.

Brandon Bethea, Co-Founder and Partner at Aterian, said, "We look forward to an expeditious close with Hain Celestial and are excited for the opportunity to collaborate with management as the Company enters its next chapter. We intend to facilitate management's efforts to invest in key growth initiatives across new products, additional geographic regions as well as enhanced production capabilities and by doing so support the Company's well-earned reputation for outstanding product and customer service."

George Zahringer, Principal at Aterian, added, "This transaction is another great example of Aterian's ability to expediently execute on complex situations and further complements Aterian's investments in industry leading enterprises where we can support strategic growth initiatives. We are pleased to have worked with and provided solutions for the Sellers throughout the process and look forward to working closely with management to capitalize on the myriad opportunities ahead."

Centerview Partners and DLA Piper advised Hain Celestial. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP represented Aterian.

About Aterian Investment Partners

Aterian Investment Partners is an operationally-focused middle market private investment firm with over $700 million in capital under management, providing resources to further enhance operations, growth and investment initiatives. The firm invests in businesses generating $25 million to $500 million of annual revenue with strong, proven franchises. Aterian, in partnership with management, seeks to focus on the critical growth, operational and liquidity initiatives of a business in an effort to drive value creation for all stakeholders.

For more information, please visit http://www.aterianpartners.com.

About Empire Kosher

Located in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, Empire Kosher is the largest producer of fresh kosher poultry in the United States. Empire Kosher has an 80+ year heritage of providing self-manufactured fresh and frozen poultry, deli meats and further processed convenience foods to the Club, mass and grocery channels.

For more information, please visit http://www.empirekosher.com.

About FreeBird

Located in Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania, FreeBird is a uniquely positioned antibiotic-free and certified organic chicken provider. FreeBird offers on-trend and innovative fresh, marinated chicken products for the foodservice, retail and home-delivery meal channels that align with chef and consumer priorities seeking great-tasting protein offering transparency, convenience and wellness.

For more information, please visit https://freebirdchicken.com.

SOURCE Aterian Investment Partners