Numero Uno Markets Sold to Private Equity Firms

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Los Angeles-based private equity firm Nogales Investors Management LLC and a Houston partner said Tuesday that they have completed the purchase of the Numero Uno Markets, the grocery chain founded by George Torres, who was convicted last month on federal racketeering charges.

Nogales created a joint venture with Breco Holdings to acquire the Numero Uno assets, which include eight supermarkets mostly in Los Angeles. The partners also plan to buy other grocery stores in the future. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

The first Numero Uno store was opened 27 years ago, with a goal to provide high-quality Latino food and household items to underserved neighborhoods. Numero Uno store revenues generally exceed $120 million, the new owners said.

“Numero Uno has a strong presence in Los Angeles and is well positioned to capitalize on the growth in the Southern California Hispanic consumer market,” Luis Nogales, Nogales Investors managing partner, said in a statement.

The United States Marshals Service seized the Numero Uno stores and other assets owned by Torres after he was arrested two years ago. The government said at the time it would seek to have the assets forfeited, but no announcement had been made that this had taken place.

A Los Angeles jury convicted Torres on April 20 on 55 of 56 RICO counts. Prosecutors accused him of a variety of offenses, including solicitation of murder, bribery of a public official, harboring illegal aliens and tax violations.

Nogales Investors invests in middle market businesses across the United States. Breco Holdings has experience investing in retail, food products, transportation and manufacturing in the United States and Mexico.

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