Fiesta Canning Has Been Acquired by Taglich Private Equity

HOUSTON, June 14, 2022 – GulfStar Group (“GulfStar”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Fiesta Canning Co., Inc. (“Fiesta Canning” or the “Company”) by Taglich Private Equity, LLC (“TPE”). GulfStar served as the exclusive financial advisor to Fiesta Canning throughout the transaction, which closed on June 1, 2022.

Fiesta Canning is one of the largest family-owned green chile processing plants in the United States. Located in the rural town of McNeal, Arizona, the Company started as a family farming venture more than 70 years ago and evolved into a high-volume producer of high-quality southwestern food products that include sauces, salsas and other fresh pack items. Fiesta Canning has a strong presence across commercial channels, serving as a trusted manufacturing partner for leading national brands, high-volume foodservice distributors, retail private label customers and its owned brands.

“We are very proud of the talented and dedicated employees at Fiesta Canning and what we have been able to accomplish together over the last 38 years,” said Troy Johnson, president of Fiesta Canning. “Making the decision to sell the business was the hardest one we’ve ever had to make as a family, and we would like to sincerely thank our trusted advisors at GulfStar and Dolasinski Miller Martin p.c. for their demonstrated care, practiced guidance and tireless efforts throughout the transaction process.”

TPE is a New York-based, value-oriented financial sponsor that invests in lower middle market companies in the consumer products, manufacturing and business services sectors. TPE specializes in recapitalizations, management buyouts and majority equity investments and has completed transactions totaling over $650 million since 2001. These investments are funded primarily with capital provided by Taglich Brothers, Inc., a full-service brokerage firm managing capital in both public and private investments.

“When you advise a family on the sale of a business that they have owned and operated for the better part of four decades, it is a deeply personal process that requires extreme care and concern, such that the final chapter of the story appropriately cements a well-deserved legacy,” said Scott Winship, managing director of GulfStar. “No truer a case than with Fiesta Canning, as the Johnson family has devoted themselves to the continuous advancement of the business and steadfastly supported its employees and loyal customers since 1984. Given the depth of personal attachment, the emotional content and the duration of dedicated ownership, the Johnson family simply deserved an advisor that would put forth 100% effort on their behalf. We are truly honored that the family elected to place their trust in GulfStar as a guide for the journey and would like to sincerely thank the entire Fiesta Canning team for their tremendous efforts throughout the transaction process.”

Scott added, “We would also like to acknowledge the meaningful efforts and very commercial approach put forth by Richard Baum and the TPE team in this transaction. Fiesta Canning is a very sturdy enterprise with enormous potential, and we stand assured that TPE will quickly leverage its demonstrated expertise in food manufacturing and strong network of industry relationships to drive the Company’s growth trajectory and field of commercial opportunity to entirely new levels.”

The GulfStar team was led by Managing Director Scott Winship along with Senior Vice President Ben Stanton and Analyst Luis Barrera.

About GulfStar Group
GulfStar is a leading middle market investment bank headquartered in Houston. GulfStar specializes in providing merger and acquisition advisory services, institutional private placements of equity and debt, and general corporate finance advisory services to companies with revenues or enterprise values generally ranging from $25 million to $350 million. Since its formation in 1990, GulfStar has completed approximately 750 transactions in 37 states and 17 foreign countries across a variety of industries.