Heartisan Foods, a leading manufacturer and distributor of branded and private label specialty and flavored cheese products, is being 100% acquired by The Gellert Global Group, which has built a major presence in the U.S. specialty cheese market through strategic acquisitions and commercial partnerships under its subsidiary, Atalanta Corporation.
Operationally-focused buyout group, Ronin Equity Partners in partnership with Landon Capital Partners, announces the sale of Barron, Wisconsin-headquartered Heartisan Foods to The Gellert Global Group. The Gellert Global Group owns a specialty cheese subsidiary, Atalanta Corporation, which is one of the leading specialty food importers of high-quality cheese, charcuterie, deli meats, grocery products, and seafood worldwide. Founded in 1945 and under the umbrella of The Gellert Global Group, Atalanta is one of the largest privately held food importers in North America.
Ronin and Landon formed Heartisan in June 2021 through the simultaneous acquisition and integration of three market leaders in specialty cheese: Red Apple Cheese, Barron County Cheese, and Cheese Brothers. North Country Packaging was acquired and integrated by the Heartisan platform in June 2023. The combined platform sells over 70 different cheese products in bricks, rounds, slices, and snack forms (including curds, shreds, sticks, and spreads), covering a range of flavors (tomato-sweet basil to ghost pepper) and types, from smoked cheese to kosher cheese. Sold primarily through the Red Apple brand, Heartisan is the fastest growing special cheese group in the U.S. with double-digit sales growth annually.
“To turn Heartisan into a cohesive powerhouse, our investment partners embedded in with us, overhauled the back office, and helped us create a well-oiled infrastructure from processing to sales,” says Lori Henningfield, Heartisan chief commercial officer. “That gave us the base to expand everything from production to products rapidly.” Highly focused commercial and operational support are a standard part of all Ronin investment programs with several Ronin team members taking executive roles at Heartisan. “The benefits we’ll be able to achieve with a diversified food group like Gellert Global’s Atalanta make this sale the natural next step in our evolution,” says Pratap Mukharji, Heartisan’s chairman of the board.
“Consolidating Heartisan with a top-tier industry specialist is the best way to maximize value for everyone,” says Ronin Managing Partner and Co-Founder, David Feierstein. “More broadly, we’re seeing a wave of consolidation deals in an exceptionally fragmented cheese industry,” says Jesse Yao, Ronin’s other Co-Founder and Managing Partner. “With demand at an apex for nutrient-rich dairy, we’ve seen heightened M&A interest for companies in the cheese category.”
As with all its acquisitions, Ronin financed the purchase with investments from a range of limited partners, in this instance including Cardinal Equity Partners and First Haven Capital. Ronin also partnered with the direct private equity investment firm, Landon Capital Partners, for the majority of the equity.
“There has been a limited capacity issue with all the Ronin deals we’ve raised capital for, as is frequently the case with the best direct investment teams,” says Matt Swain, Head of Direct Placements and Secondaries at Houlihan Lokey. Swain and his team have raised the capital for all of Ronin’s funded deals. All have been oversubscribed by a factor of at least three. “We’re very pleased with this exit,” says Sundip Murthy, Managing Partner of Landon Capital Partners. “Heartisan’s superior growth and the successful sale of a domestically-focused business in a tough market for transactions illustrates what can be achieved with strong alignment in direct deals.”
Immediately before the current transaction, online cheese brand and distributor, Cheese Brothers, was carved out from Heartisan. Selling a wide range of cheese products directly to consumers, Cheese Brothers’ annual revenues have quickly grown due to a loyal customer following. Cheese Brothers is being sold for an undisclosed sum.
Since the first quarter of 2021, when it began investing, Ronin has committed to five platform investments, comprising a total of 23 companies. From acquisition to date, annualized EBITDA at Ronin’s five platform companies has risen 30 percent to $103 million, while annualized revenues are up 35 percent to $512 million.
Ronin has a current pipeline of close to 50 potential proprietary food deals with EBITDAs ranging from $3 million to $70 million. Ronin has signed a letter of intent for a purchase it expects to close by May and is likely to sell a second portfolio company later this month.
Goulston & Storrs and Katten Muchin Rosenman acted as legal advisors on Heartisan. Intrepid acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Heartisan Foods and the company’s shareholders. KeyBanc advised Ronin Equity Partners in the transaction.
About Ronin Equity Partners
Based in New York City, Ronin Equity Partners represents a new type of investment firm, powered by an operationally-focused value creation strategy. Ronin makes control equity investments exclusively in the Industrial and Consumer sectors, where the team has prior expertise. The group buys strong businesses with high demonstrated cash flows, where Ronin’s operating playbook adds value. The Ronin team can provide a wide variety of commercial and operational resources, including embedding staff into companies as interim senior executives to build robust back-offices and infrastructure capable of scaling businesses for growth and integrating acquisitions. This partnership empowers management to focus entirely on growing the business without being burdened by back-office operations. The firm was founded in 2019 by managing partners David Feierstein and Jesse Yao alongside other former senior executives from Kraft Heinz, NCR, and Diversey. The firm is supported by some 75 operating advisors in the consumer and industrials sectors.
www.roninequitypartners.com
About Landon Capital Partners
Landon Capital Partners (“LCP”) is a private equity firm based in Boston, MA and London, UK, focused on the U.S. lower-middle market and backed by global family office investors. LCP targets control investments in growth-oriented companies with $5 to $25 million of EBITDA, primarily in the business and consumer services as well as niche industrial sectors. As a trusted partner to founders and management teams, LCP brings institutional capabilities with an entrepreneurial mindset. The firm differentiates itself through its flexible capital, hands-on support, and access to a global network of long-term-oriented investors. LCP has completed over 18 platform investments, helping founders and management teams drive transformational growth and lasting value creation.
www.landoncapital.com
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250414941624/en/
"The benefits we’ll be able to achieve with a diversified food group like Gellert Global’s Atalanta make this sale the natural next step in our evolution,” says Pratap Mukharji, Heartisan’s chairman of the board."
Contacts
David Lanchner, dlanchner@lanchner.com, +1 646 302 2435
