Louisiana Fish Fry Has Been Acquired by an Affiliate of Peak Rock Capital

HOUSTON, October 10, 2018 – GulfStar Group (“GulfStar”), a leading middle market investment bank, is pleased to announce that Louisiana Fish Fry Products, Ltd. (“Louisiana Fish Fry” or the “Company”) has been acquired by an affiliate of Peak Rock Capital (“Peak Rock”). GulfStar served as the exclusive financial advisor to Louisiana Fish Fry throughout the transaction, which closed on October 5, 2018.

Headquartered in Baton Rouge, LA, Louisiana Fish Fry provides a broad array of Louisiana-inspired food products, including spices and seasonings, seafood boils, breadings and batters, sauces and marinades, and rice mixes. The Company serves leading grocery and mass market retailers as well as foodservice customers nationwide. Founded by the Pizzolato family more than 30 years ago, Louisiana Fish Fry has earned an exceptional reputation for great tasting, authentic products, and outstanding customer service. Tony’s Seafood will continue to be 100% owned and independently operated by the Pizzolato family.

Peak Rock is a leading middle-market private equity firm that makes equity and debt investments in companies in North America and Europe. The acquisition of Louisiana Fish Fry represents Peak Rock’s eighth investment in the food and beverage industry. Peak Rock’s current investments in the food space include: TNT Crust, Sweet Harvest Foods, Berner Food & Beverage, Diamond Crystal Brands, and Gold Coast Bakeries. Peak Rock focuses on investing in opportunities where it can support senior management in driving rapid growth and profit improvement through operational and strategic change. Its principals have deep expertise in complex situations and cross border transactions, with the ability to provide tailored capital solutions and close transactions quickly, where speed and certainty are priorities.

“This was a particularly personal transaction, as the Pizzolato family has carefully nurtured the Louisiana Fish Fry brand and steadfastly supported its wonderful team of dedicated employees and loyal customers for nearly 40 years,” said Scott Winship, managing director of GulfStar. “Electing to position the business for accelerated future growth and expansion was a very difficult decision for the family to make, and we are truly honored that they selected GulfStar to guide them through the process. We would like to congratulate and sincerely thank the Pizzolatos, and specifically acknowledge the tremendous efforts put forth by Brad Burkett, Kathy Broussard, and Frank Prestia as terrific execution partners in this transaction.”

Scott added, “Louisiana Fish Fry has secured a truly ideal partner in Peak Rock, and we stand assured that the legacy of this very fine brand will continue to expand in scope through innovation, distribution expansion and increasing consumer awareness of its undeniably authentic, great tasting products.”

The GulfStar team was led by Managing Director Scott Winship and Vice President Ben Stanton along with Associate Alex Pette.

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 more than 675 transactions in 34 states and 16 foreign countries across a variety of industries.