BOSTON – Sovos Brands, a new company formed by private equity firm Advent International, recently acquired Michael Angelo’s Gourmet Foods, a leading producer of premium frozen Italian entrées. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Austin, Texas-based Michael Angelo’s is a family owned and operated food company that produces a full line of single-serve and multi-serve frozen, prepared meals with gross sales of approximately $100 million. The items are made from scratch in small batches using fresh, clean-label ingredients, according to the company. The meals are sold in grocery stores, natural food stores and club stores nationwide.
“Michael Angelo's is a highly authentic, great-tasting, frozen Italian entrée brand well respected in the industry for its clean-label offering,” Todd Lachman, president and CEO of Sovos Brands, said in a statement. “The company exemplifies the types of businesses we are looking to acquire in the food and beverage space. It is a unique, leading branded player offering delicious food that meets today’s lifestyle and consumer demand for real, clean ingredients. We believe Michael Angelo’s has significant potential for growth through increased awareness, distribution and new product development, and we look forward to working with Michael Angelo and the management team to pursue these opportunities.”
Michael Angelo, chairman and CEO of Michael Angelo’s, said “Our new partnership with Sovos Brands represents a perfect fit for our company. Sovos Brands is a lean, nimble organization led by experienced industry executives who share our long-term vision for the business. With their investments in production, distribution and product innovation, we believe we can accelerate Michael Angelo’s growth and continue our mission of creating the highest-quality Italian entrées in the freezer aisle. I look forward to partnering with Todd Lachman and his team on Michael Angelo’s next stage of development.”
Michael Angelo's is the first investment by Sovos Brands, a new food and beverage company formed by Advent International. David Roberts, a principal at Advent, said the acquisition of Michael Angelo’s is the first step in the private equity firm’s plan to build “a food and beverage company of significant scale.” He added that Sovos will focus on supporting the expansion of Michael Angelo’s while pursuing acquisitions of other “high-potential” businesses.
