CHICAGO — Wind Point Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has acquired Evans Food Group, a provider of branded and private label pork rind snacks. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1947, Evans Food Group has a presence in the United States and Canada, as well as in 13 countries throughout Latin America and Asia. The company operates five facilities in Ontario, Calif.; Chicago; Portsmouth, Ohio; Arlington, Texas; and Saltillo, Mexico. The company’s brands include Mac’s, La Toñita, Porkies and Bills.
Jose Luis Prado, a 30-year-veteran of the snacks industry, will join Evans as chairman and CEO. Prado most recently was with PepsiCo, Inc., where he was president of Quaker Oats North America. During his tenure at PepsiCo, he also was president and CEO of Grupo Gamesa-Quaker in Mexico. Before leading Grupo Gamesa-Quaker, he spearheaded sales, finance and general management assignments at PepsiCo in Latin America and Europe.
Prado and Wind Point will work closely with Evans’ co-founder and chairman, Alejandro Silva, who will serve on the board of directors.
“Wind Point’s partnership with Jose Luis — a top caliber global executive in the food industry — along with our proven track record and depth of experience in food investments, creates an excellent opportunity to drive continued growth at Evans,” said Mark Burgett, managing director at Wind Point. “We are excited to work with Jose Luis and the Evans team to continue writing Evans’ and Wind Point Partners’ success stories.”
Prado added, “I believe that Evans’ preferred products, advantaged manufacturing footprint, solid portfolio of national and regional brands, great team and partnership with Wind Point will enable us to pursue a wide array of domestic and international opportunities.”
Wind Point’s most recent food investments include Gehl Foods (acquired in March 2015), Shearer’s (sold to Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in January 2015), Hearthside Food Solution (sold to Goldman Sachs and Vestar Capital in June 2014), Rupari Foods (acquired in July 2011) and Nonni’s (acquired in February 2011).
