Huron Capital Forms Seafood Platform With Two Acquisitions
Detroit-Based PE Firm Invests in Aquamar and LM Foods
DETROIT, Aug. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Huron Capital today announced it has made equity investments in Aquamar, Inc. ("Aquamar") and LM Foods, LLC ("LM Foods") to form a new platform, Aquamar Holdings, in the surimi seafood market, producing and selling crab flavored seafood to food service, food manufacturing, and retail channels primarily in North America.
Based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Aquamar was co-founded in 1991 by company president, Hugo Yamakawa, vice president of operations, Taka Iwasaki, and a former partner. Aquamar produces both frozen and refrigerated products, most of which are sold under the Aquamar brand name. The company is one of the leading manufacturers of shred style surimi in North America, selling to restaurant/foodservice customers and major retailers. Hugo and Taka will remain as influential leaders in the business and additionally serve on the board of directors of the new platform.
LM Foods was founded in the early 1990s and is based in Carteret, NJ. LM Foods primarily produces frozen, private label surimi seafood, offering premium, select and value products to its customers and selling premium products under the Classic Bay brand name. LM Foods CEO Mark Olivito will lead the new platform and serve on its board of directors. Messrs. Iwasaki, Olivito and Yamakawa will be significant shareholders in the new platform in partnership with Huron Capital.
"We are excited to partner with Huron Capital and bring together this platform," said Olivito. "Aquamar and LM Foods have complementary capabilities that we think will fit together nicely and serve as a growth platform moving forward. We believe having manufacturing facilities on both U.S. coasts will enable us to serve our customers better and continue to expand the combined business."
Mike Beauregard, Senior Partner at Huron Capital, added, "Our firm has a history of investing in food and beverage markets. Seafood consumption in North America has been rising for several years and we think the surimi seafood market is a stable and attractive sector. We look forward to working with Hugo, Mark, Taka, and the rest of the team as we build on this exciting new platform."
About Huron Capital
Based in Detroit, Huron Capital is an operationally-focused private equity firm with a long history of growing lower middle-market companies through our proprietary ExecFactor® buy-and-build investment model. We prefer complex situations where we can help companies reach their full potential by combining our operational approach, substantial capital base, and transaction experience with seasoned operating executives. Founded in 1999, Huron Capital has raised over $1.7 billion in capital through six committed private equity funds and invested in over 140 companies, and our portfolio companies have employed over 11,000 people throughout North America. The Huron Capital buy-and-build investment model includes equity recapitalizations, family succession transactions, market-entry strategies, corporate carve-outs, and management buyouts of companies having revenues up to $200 million. Huron Capital targets both control and non-control equity stakes in fundamentally-sound companies that can benefit from the firm's operational approach to creating value. Huron Capital's sector focus includes business services, consumer products & services and specialty industrials. For more information, please visit www.huroncapital.com.
For more information on Aquamar and LM Foods, please visit www.aquamar.net and www.lmfoods.com.
SOURCE Huron Capital
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