Louisiana Fish Fry Products—which manufactures and sells Cajun and Creole cooking projects from the Plank Road facility that is adjacent to sister company Tony’s Seafood—has been acquired by an affiliate of Austin, Texas-based private equity firm Peak Rock Capital for an undisclosed price.
Tony’s Seafood was not part of the deal and will remain locally owned by the Pizzolato family, which founded Tony’s Seafood in 1972 and Louisiana Fish Fry Products in 1982.
Though it’s unclear what kind of change the new ownership will mean for the homegrown company and its 285 employees, Peak Rock Capital executives indicate in a statement that the current management team will remain in place, saying: “We look forward to working with existing management and employees of Louisiana Fish Fry in their current roles.”
Louisiana Fish Fry is the latest of several food-related companies Peak Rock Capital has acquired over the past two years and complements the firm’s $2 billion portfolio. Peak Rock executives say they plan to grow the local company through sales and, potentially, future acquisitions.
“We continue to seek additional food and consumer platforms to invest in as well as complimentary add-on acquisitions of Louisiana Fish Fry of other branded specialty food companies,” Peak Rock Capital CEO Anthony DiSimone says in a statement.
It is unclear whether the Pizzolato family was shopping their company around or if Peak Rock approached them with a deal. The Pizzolatos did not return multiple calls seeking comment before this morning’s deadline.
But Louisiana Fish Fry would be an attractive target for investors, given its recent growth. Between 2015 and 2017, revenues increased 15% to more than $61 million for both Tony’s Seafood and Louisiana Fish Fry, the latter of which accounted for some 70% of those sales.
In 2016, the company rolled out four new boxed products to complement its coatings and spice blends, and expanded its distribution facility to keep up with the demand.
At the time, company principal Bill Pizzolato told Daily Report the company was producing between 26 million and 28 million pounds of product a year out of its Plank road facility and needed more space to grow.
