ONTARIO, Calif.– GS Foods Group, Inc. (“GS Foods”), a leading specialized food distributor owned by affiliates of Highview Capital, LLC (“Highview”) and A&M Capital Partners (“AMCP”), announced the acquisition of K-12 school foodservice distribution company, School Lunch Products, Inc. (“SLP”). The business combination will integrate GS Foods’ national nutrition expertise with a local operation to enhance SLP’s capabilities and commitment to customers.
GS Foods encompasses a family of specialized foodservice distribution companies including Gold Star Foods, one of nation’s largest school nutrition providers – serving 4,300 K-12 schools in over 1,000 school districts throughout the United States. Through this acquisition, GS Foods will extend its strong logistics capabilities, commodity expertise, online offerings and product assortment to provide SLP’s existing customer base with increased choice and support to expand its footprint.
“By integrating SLP – a company that shares our mission to meet and exceed the needs of school districts – GS Foods is taking another step forward in our efforts to create a coordinated, national nutrition supply chain,” said Sean Leer, CEO, GS Foods. “We are excited to combine our deep industry experience with SLP’s operations, ultimately providing even more value and expanded opportunities to the communities they’ve served for over a decade.”
Established in 2009, SLP provides school districts in Shafter, CA and the surrounding area with options for high-quality commodity and commercial products. As part of the acquisition, GS Foods will be welcoming SLP President, Mike Fackler, to its sales leadership team.
“GS Foods continues to grow as a national leading school nutrition and solutions provider, delivering exceptional customer service and reliably providing millions of students with meals each day,” said Mike Fackler, Owner and President, SLP. “I look forward to joining this unparalleled team and helping extend our reach to benefit more communities in California and nationwide.”
The integration of SLP follows GS Foods’ previous acquisitions of Fresno Produce and Hayes Distributing earlier this year, expanding the company’s footprint and increasing service offerings for both the school foodservice industry as well as other specialized food sectors.
“GS Foods continues to illustrate its leadership and distinct capabilities in school nutrition and other specialized foodservice sectors,” said Steve Russell, Managing Director and Sr. Portfolio Manager, Highview. “Continued partnerships with companies like SLP contribute to the growth of GS Foods – allowing us to bring its expertise to additional markets and build a national nutrition system for the future.”
About GS Foods
GS Foods is a family of specialized foodservice distribution companies. GS Foods uses its sophisticated network of facilities to provide trusted food distribution and product solutions to specialized foodservice segments, including education, corrections, non-profit, business & industry and healthcare. GS Foods’ independent subsidiaries, Good Source Solutions, Inc. and Gold Star Foods, Inc., collectively serve over 8,000 customers nationwide. GS Foods is owned by affiliates of Highview Capital, LLC and A&M Capital Partners.
About Highview Capital, LLC
Highview Capital, LLC is an opportunistic private equity investment vehicle headquartered in Los Angeles, CA with approximately $500 million in assets under management providing transformational equity. Highview leverages its creative vision and expertise to partner with management teams of leading middle-market businesses undergoing periods of transformation, including growth, expansion or performance improvement. For more information, visit www.highviewcp.com.
About A&M Capital Partners
Alvarez & Marsal Capital is a multi-strategy private equity investment firm with over $3 billion in total assets under management across four funds and three investment strategies. The privately-owned firm is led by a highly experienced investment team, which is augmented by its strategic association with Alvarez & Marsal (“A&M”), one of the largest operationally-focused advisory firms in the world. AMC’s business model combines a focus on middle-market private equity investing with the deep operational expertise, industry knowledge and global corporate relationships of A&M, making it a uniquely attractive partner to management teams, corporates, and business owners.
