Investcorp acquires majority stake in leading wholesale produce distributor, Sunrise Produce

Investcorp, a leading global alternative investment firm, today announced its acquisition of a majority stake in Sunrise Produce ("Sunrise", or “the Company”), a leading specialty distributor of high-quality fresh produce and gourmet products in the US.

Founded in 1991, and headquartered in Fullerton, California, Sunrise is well-positioned as a critical link between suppliers and customers, sourcing a wide range of the freshest high-quality produce and gourmet products from over 400 suppliers and distributing to more than 2,000 customers across a variety of sectors, such as food services, education, healthcare and retail. Following this transaction, Investcorp will partner with Sunrise to further accelerate the Company’s growth potential both organically and inorganically through add-on acquisitions.

Sunrise is led by President and Chief Executive Officer, David Sapia, an industry veteran with over 35 years of food distribution industry experience. Sapia joined Sunrise in 1998 and led significant expansion and revenue growth across various sectors with both new and existing customers. Sapia remains a significant shareholder in the Company.

Tarek AlMahjoub, Head of UAE and Oman for Investcorp’s Private Wealth, says, “Our latest acquisition of Sunrise Produce continues our philosophy of supporting innovative and sustainable businesses in seeking to realise their ambitions and potential industry-leading growth. Taking a majority stake in Sunrise Produce continues our successful history of investment in the specialty distribution space.”

“Fresh produce distribution in the US is a highly fragmented, $70 billion market that has consistently shown resilience throughout economic cycles,” says Ali Alrahma, Private Equity Specialist for Investcorp’s Private Wealth. “David and the Sunrise team have built a special, passionate culture that consistently delivers outstanding service to its customers. Their model and disciplined approach has propelled them to exceptional, industry-leading growth. We look forward to our partnership and to helping the Company accelerate its growth through both geographic expansion and accretive add-on acquisitions.”

Investcorp has a long history of investing in, creating and realising value from value-added specialty distributors across various end-markets, with notable recent portfolio investments including Fortune International, S&S Truck Parts, KSI Auto Parts, Arrowhead Engineered Products and Berlin Packaging.