An investment fund managed by Lakeview Capital, Inc., a Michigan-based family office, has closed its acquisition of The Mochi Ice Cream Co., makers of My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream and the largest branded manufacturer of mochi ice cream in North America. Lakeview Capital, Inc. acquired the company from Century Park Capital Partners.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream is the creator of the mochi ice cream category and the leading national brand currently available in over 20,000 retailers throughout the United States. The company has over a 100-year history and is credited with creating mochi ice cream, a handheld, portion-controlled snack of premium ice cream wrapped in sweet, pillowy rice dough.
Craig Berger, President and CEO of The Mochi Ice Cream Co., along with the management team, will remain with the company in their current roles under the new ownership. "Under Lakeview's ownership, we are very excited to continue building on the incredible momentum we have generated," said Mr. Berger. "Lakeview has a proven track record of success, and through our shared vision and collaboration, we will continue to grow and expand our business."
"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," said Jake Freeman, Director of Investments for Lakeview Capital, Inc. "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 Investments and WhiteHorse Capital. Advisors to Lakeview Capital, Inc. on the transaction included Ropes & Gray as legal counsel and Plante Moran as financial and tax advisor. Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to Century Park and Winston & Strawn provided legal counsel. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream:
Headquartered in Los Angeles, My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream is a miraculous match of magnificent mochi dough with marvelously mouthwatering ice cream. Available in a variety of fan favorite flavors, My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream gives snackers a colorful and flavorful new way to experience ice cream in a handheld, naturally portion controlled way. Made from the very best ingredients, always gluten free and rBST free, My/Mo's offerings range from poppable and delicious ice cream wrapped in sweet rice mochi dough with dairy and vegan offerings. For more information on My/Mo, including where it is available for purchase, please visit mymomochi.com.
About Century Park Capital Partners:
Century Park Capital Partners is a Los Angeles-based private equity group established in 2000 that invests in family businesses, owner-operated firms and corporate divestitures with the purpose of accelerating growth and transforming these companies into leading industry players. We specialize in acquiring strategically well-positioned yet under-resourced middle market companies with identifiable potential for value creation. We leverage the domain expertise of the Century Park Executive Council to work with management to implement a value creation blueprint for our portfolio companies. We further support our investments with proven operational and best practice initiatives, led by our Operating Team, including buy-and-build acquisition integration programs and infrastructure additions. For more information on Century Park, please visit www.centuryparkcapital.com.
