Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm, is pleased to announce the sale of Loewy Enterprises, d/b/a Sunrise Produce (Sunrise), a leading Southern California produce distributor, to Investcorp, an alternative investment firm.
BGL’s Food & Beverage investment banking team served as the exclusive financial advisor to Sunrise in the transaction, which furthers BGL’s food and beverage M&A expertise within the broader food distribution market, and in particular, the specialty produce sector.
Founded in 1991 by Paul Carone, and headquartered in Fullerton, California, Sunrise is a prominent route-based, foodservice produce distributor serving a diversified base of over 2,000 accounts. Today, the company provides customers across the restaurant, resort, education, healthcare, and retail sectors with over 3,000 SKUs of specialty produce and other perishable foods sourced from a comprehensive regional supplier/grower network across the western United States. The transaction is expected to fuel Sunrise’s future growth including meaningful opportunities for market expansion and future acquisitions.
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“My goal in transitioning ownership was to identify a partner who could preserve the legacy, culture, and strong reputation we have built in the competitive Southern California market. Dan, Stephen, and the rest of the BGL team delivered these results for Sunrise, and I thank them for their tremendous work,” said Paul Carone, founder and co-owner of Sunrise.
“BGL was an exceptional advisor every step of the way,” added David Sapia, CEO and co-owner of Sunrise. “Their hands-on approach helped guide me and my team through the entire process, ultimately yielding a fantastic outcome. They did a great job communicating the unique Sunrise story to the market and helped us identify the optimal partner to support the company’s future growth plans.”
BGL’s Food & Beverage investment banking team, led by Daniel J. Gomez, has deep sector knowledge and extensive transaction experience representing companies across the entire food and beverage landscape. Coverage includes retail of both branded and private label products, global supply chain sourcing, processing, distribution, and wholesale.