Ready Meals

Sovos Brands Buys Michael Angelo’s Gourmet Foods

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Michael Angelo’s Gourmet Foods Inc. is now owned by Sovos Brands, a new company formed by global private equity investor Advent International. Financial terms involved in acquiring the Austin, Texas-based producer of frozen Italian entrées were not disclosed.

Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay area, Sovos aims to focus on high-quality brands in on-trend categories with the potential to accelerate growth by investing in distribution, marketing, production and product innovation.

michael saraMichael Angelo’s Gourmet Foods is headed by Chairman and CEO Michael Angelo, who co-founded the family business with his mother, Sara, more than 30 years ago. All products in their wide line, which range from single-serve Lasagna with Meat Sauce to multi-size Eggplant Parmesan are made from family recipes and produced from scratch in small batches using high-quality clean label ingredients containing no fillers or preservatives.

Since its commercial launch in 1983, Michael Angelo’s has grown organically from a small, regional business to a national prepared meal brand, generating approximately $100 million in annual sales. The company’s meals are available at supermarkets, natural food outlets and warehouse club stores nationwide.

Eggplant Parm Michael Angelo“Our new partnership with Sovos Brands represents a perfect fit for our company,” said Angelo. “The lean, nimble organization is 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.”

Spearheading Sovos Brands’ acquisition and value creation initiatives are President and CEO Todd Lachman, CFO Larry Bodner, and Chairman Bill Johnson. Lachman has been in the consumer packaged goods industry for 25 years, having held executive positions at Mars, Del Monte Foods, H.J. Heinz and Procter & Gamble. Bodner has over 25 years of experience as a financial executive at companies including Big Heart Pet Brands, Del Monte Foods, Walt Disney and Procter & Gamble. Johnson was formerly chairman, chief executive officer and president of H.J. Heinz, where he logged a distinguished 31-year career.

Advent Intl logoDavid Roberts, a principal at Advent International, commented: “The acquisition of Michael Angelo’s is an important first step in our plan to build a food and beverage company of significant scale. Advent and the team at Sovos Brands will focus on supporting Michael Angelo’s expansion while pursuing acquisitions of other high-potential businesses from founders, financial sponsors and large consumer packaged goods companies.”

Headquartered in Boston and operating from 12 offices in 10 countries, Advent International has significant investment experience in retail, consumer and leisure industries. Over the past 26 years, the firm has invested more than $32 billion in over 320 private equity deals around the world and managed $42 billion in assets.