Linsalata Capital Partners Acquires Spartan Foods of America

Mayfield Heights, Ohio (December 16, 2009) – Linsalata Capital Partners (LinCap), a Cleveland-based private equity firm, announced that it has acquired Spartan Foods of America from Azalea Capital. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Spartan Foods is a leading manufacturer of branded pizza crusts, frozen pizza and pancakes sold primarily through grocery and retail channels. The company’s well-know brands, “Mama Mary’s” and “Mystic Pizza,” are sold in over 20,000 outlets nationwide. Spartan also sells products through select food service outlets.

The existing management team, led by Tom Baliker, Founder and CEO, will be joined by President and COO Tom Lavan, an industry veteran who has worked with LinCap over the past several years in connection with its initiative into the food sector. Spartan’s senior managers invested in the deal alongside LinCap.

“We are excited to be partnering with LinCap and continue executing our plan for growth,” said Tom Baliker. “From the start of the sale process, it was clear that LinCap’s food and consumer products experience would be additive, and that the LinCap team shared our vision for the future of the company.”

“Through its brands and offerings, Spartan Foods has developed an excellent reputation based on a high quality product, innovation, a solid customer base, and excellent customer service,” said Daniel L. DeSantis, managing director, Linsalata Capital Partners. “The company is a strong player in the niche pizza crust market, and has a growing presence in both the frozen pizza and pancake categories. These factors are consistent with our acquisition criteria for food-related businesses. We look forward to working with the Spartan team in realizing its growth initiatives.”

Located in the Cleveland suburb of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, Linsalata Capital Partners was founded in 1984 and has combined its strong financial capabilities with extensive operational experience to accelerate the growth of middle-market companies. In its more than 25 years of investing, the firm has completed 91 buy-side transactions totaling more than $2 billion. Linsalata Capital Partners is currently investing from its sixth fund, Linsalata Capital Partners Fund V, L.P. (LinCap V), with $425 million in committed equity capital.