Investcorp acquires leading seafood and speciality food distributor

Bahrain: Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investment products, announced that it has acquired Fortune International, (Fortune Fish & Gourmet), a leading super-regional speciality 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 speciality food distributors in the US.
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 US. The company has continually expanded its geographic footprint by acquiring speciality distributors in strategic markets. To maintain operational flexibility, Investcorp and O’Scannlain have capitalised the company with a conservative capital structure to fund a deliberate acquisition strategy and further accelerate Fortune’s geographic expansion.
Tarek Al Mahjoub, Managing Director at Investcorp for Dubai and Oman markets said, “At Investcorp, we continue to identify investment opportunities where we can add value beyond the provision of capital. Through our partnership with Fortune, we seek to support the company’s growth strategy as it continues to deliver the highest quality of seafood and gourmet food products.”
Fortune operates a state-of-the-art facility in Bensenville, Illinois, located close 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.”
Investcorp has a deep history of collaborating with founder-led businesses and this transaction represents the firm’s fifth partnership with a US-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, Fleet Pride and American Tire Distributors.