Investcorp Completes Recapitalization of Fortune Fish & Gourmet, a Leading Seafood and Specialty Food Distributor

NEW YORK, Feb. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investment products, today announced that it has completed the recapitalization of Fortune International, LLC ("Fortune" "Fortune Fish & Gourmet" or the "Company"), a leading super-regional specialty distributor of seafood and gourmet food products. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Fortune was founded in 2001 by CEO Sean O'Scannlain, who will continue to lead the Company and maintain a significant ownership stake. The Company has cultivated a loyal and diverse customer base through its commitment to sourcing the freshest, highest quality products and delivering industry-leading service levels. With a strong founder-led management team, Fortune has grown to become one of the largest seafood and specialty food distributors in the U.S.

Fortune distributes fresh seafood, frozen seafood and gourmet foods, offering more than 12,000 SKUs to fine-dining restaurants, grocery stores, hotels and other customers, primarily across the Midwestern U.S. The Company has continually expanded its geographic footprint by acquiring specialty distributors in strategic markets. In order to maintain operational flexibility, Investcorp and Mr. O'Scannlain have capitalized the Company with a conservative capital structure to fund a deliberate acquisition strategy and further accelerate Fortune's geographic expansion.

"Specialty foodservice distribution in the United States is a highly fragmented, resilient and growing $40 billion market," said Dave Tayeh, Head of Private Equity – North America, Investcorp.  "We believe that Fortune is well-positioned to capture significant share with its unique platform as a scaled, specialty seafood enterprise delivering superior product quality and service across a wide breadth of products. We have a long history of partnering with founder-led businesses, and we look forward to working with Sean and his talented team over the coming years."

Fortune operates a state-of-the art facility in Bensenville, Illinois, located in close proximity to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, which enables timely delivery of products across key Midwestern MSAs. In addition to its Bensenville facility, Fortune operates facilities in Minneapolis, Minnesota; St. Louis, Missouri; Kansas City, Missouri; Bayou La Batre, Alabama; Birmingham, Alabama and Picayune, Mississippi. 

Fortune Founder and CEO Sean O'Scannlain, stated, "We are proud of the business we have built over nearly two decades and we are excited to embark on this next phase. We are confident that Investcorp is the ideal firm to serve as our first institutional capital partner, given their deep understanding of the foodservice distribution market, alignment with our vision, and their strong track record of scaling businesses. With the support of Investcorp's resources and expertise, we believe that Fortune will be well positioned to execute on management's growth strategy by providing customers with the best quality products and expanding in core and adjacent geographies, while continuing to uphold our rigorous sustainability standards."

Fortune Fish & Gourmet operates under a comprehensive seafood sustainability policy. This includes industry-leading standards for suppliers to ensure the sourcing and sale of environmentally and socially responsible seafood, as well as product donations to food assistance programs focused on eliminating hunger. Fortune Fish & Gourmet is MSC and ASC certified and is also a founding member of Sea Pact, an alliance of companies dedicated to improving the social, economic and environmental sustainability of global seafood supply chains. 

Investcorp has a deep history of collaborating with founder-led businesses and this transaction represents the firm's fifth partnership with a U.S.-based founder-led business over the last two years. In addition, Investcorp has a long track record of investing in the supply chain and distribution industries with notable past investments including Berlin Packaging, FleetPride and American Tire Distributors.

Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor to Fortune on this transaction.

About Investcorp
Investcorp is a leading global manager of alternative investments. Led by a new vision, Investcorp has embarked on an ambitious, albeit prudent, growth strategy. The Firm continues to focus on generating value through a disciplined investment approach in six lines of business: private equity, real estate, absolute return investments, infrastructure, credit management and strategic capital.

As at December 31, 2019, the Investcorp Group had $31.1 billion in total AUM, including assets managed by third party managers and assets subject to a non-discretionary advisory mandate where Investcorp receives fees calculated on the basis of AUM.

Since its inception in 1982, Investcorp has made over 195 Private Equity deals in the US, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa region and Asia, across a range of sectors including retail and consumer products, technology, business services and industrials, and more than 765 commercial and residential real estate investments in the US and Europe, for in excess of $61 billion in transaction value.

Investcorp employs approximately 450 people across its offices in New York, London, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha, Mumbai and Singapore. For further information, including our most recent periodic financial statements, which details our assets under management, please visit:

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About Fortune
Fortune is a leading specialty distributor of seafood and gourmet food products headquartered in Bensenville, IL. The Company operates facilities in Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi and Alabama, with service to customers across the central United States. The Company offers differentiated processing, service, and distribution capabilities to its customer base, including white-tablecloth restaurants, private clubs, elegant hotels and gourmet retail stores. The Company is a super-regional distributor handling more than 10,000 seafood and gourmet products annually, specializing in the finest quality fresh, live and frozen seafood and gourmet foods.

SOURCE Investcorp

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