The blockbuster acquisition of the North Kansas City, Mo.-based C&C Produce expands GS Foods’ national footprint and its customer base by 50%, according to Sean Leer, chief executive of GS Foods. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“We’re pretty prominent in produce in Southern California, but (C&C’s) expertise in produce and footprint will really give us additional expertise in volume and scale. We’re really looking for C&C to kind of lead that initiative for our enterprise,” Leer said.
“It’s a significant deal for us. It’s probably going to triple our produce footprint in terms of volume. They have scale to grow. This is a very strategic move in a category that we want to be stronger in,” Leer said.
Brentwood-based Highview Capital and Greenwich, Conn.-based A&M Capital Partners backed the tuck-in acquisition.
GS Foods has roughly 8,000 customers, while C&C has 4,000 customers across six states. C&C, which was established in 1992, operates the largest produce warehouse in the Midwest, according to the companies.
The latest acquisition reinforces GS Foods’ effort to create the nation’s largest food distribution company and adds specialized customer accounts in the retail grocery distribution and food service markets.
C&C is the fifth food service distribution company purchased by GS Foods since the company formed through the merger of Gold Star Foods Inc. and Good Source Solutions Inc. in October 2019, according to Leer.
GS Foods distributes food for nearly 30% of the school lunch programs in the United States. The company has 10 distribution centers in the United States, stretching from Richmond, Va., to Houston to Boise, Idaho, to Ontario. The company’s distribution segment moves food to more than 600 school districts in California and 1,400 overall in 14 states, Leer said.
From its 260,000-square-foot facility and headquarters in Ontario, the company ships food to school districts and schools from Bakersfield to Los Angles to Arizona.
GS Foods handles almost 9 million school meals a day, Leer said.
