An investment fund managed by Lakeview Capital in Birmingham has closed its acquisition of The Mochi Ice Cream Co. in California, which distributes its products to more than 20,000 retailers across the country. Lakeview acquired the company from Century Park Capital Partners in California. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Mochi is the largest branded manufacturer of mochi ice cream in North America. Mochi ice cream consists of ice cream balls about the size of golf balls that are wrapped in sweet rice dough. They come in a variety of flavors.
“Under Lakeview’s ownership, we are very excited to continue building on the incredible momentum we have generated,” says Craig Berger, president and CEO of Mochi. “Lakeview has a proven track record of success, and through our shared vision and collaboration, we will continue to grow and expand our business.”
Berger and the rest of the management team will remain with the company in their current roles.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with a focused, seasoned management team to support growth in the snack category, a segment we find very attractive,” says Jake Freeman, director of investments for Lakeview. “We are closely aligned with the team on our plans to deploy significant capital to continue to build a leading, global, branded mochi snack platform.”
Financing for the transaction was provided by LBC Credit Partners, PineBridge Investment, and WhiteHorse Capital. Advisers to Lakeview included Ropes and Gray as legal counsel and Plante Moran as financial and tax adviser. Houlihan Lokey served as financial adviser to Century Park, and Winston and Strawn provided legal counsel.
