Food & Beverage Acquisitions in Alabama

Dallas-based Braemont Capital has made a strategic growth investment in Royal Cup Coffee & Tea, a nearly 130-year-old Birmingham roaster and distributor. The partnership will provide capital and operational support to expand Royal Cup's roasting and distribution capabilities and strengthen its presence across hospitality, foodservice, healthcare and convenience channels.

Red Arts Capital, a Chicago-based investment firm focused on supply-chain and logistics businesses, has acquired Forestwood Farm, a family-owned produce distributor headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The acquisition adds Forestwood to Red Arts' produce processing and logistics portfolio (joining Freshway Foods) and expands the firm's distribution footprint in the Southeastern United States; Forestwood's second-generation owners will remain in leadership roles.

Five Star Breaktime Solutions, Canteen North America and several local Canteen franchise operators have acquired Buffalo Rock Company's full-line vending operations across Alabama, West Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. Buffalo Rock divested the business so it can focus on its core Pepsi and Keurig Dr Pepper bottling operations while the buyers expand their breakroom, vending and micro-market footprints in the region.

Legacy Food Group announced that Halsey Foodservice, a fourth-generation broadline foodservice distributor based in Madison, Alabama, will join LFG as its fifth operating division. Halsey will retain its name and management, with leadership taking an equity stake in Legacy Food Group and the business gaining access to LFG's purchasing, supplier relationships and coordinated sales and marketing resources to expand in the Southeast.

Fenwick Food Group, a division of Fenwick Brands Inc., has acquired Wickles Pickles and will operate the brand from Birmingham, Alabama alongside Moore’s Marinades & Sauces. The deal (closed Nov. 29) brings the iconic Southern pickle brand onto Fenwick’s food platform to provide additional resources and scale; financial terms were not disclosed.

Five Star Food Service, the largest Canteen franchise, has acquired Gulf Coast Canteen, a Mobile, Alabama-based vending operation, adding branches in Mobile and Pensacola and marking Five Star's entry into Florida. Terms were not disclosed; owner Greg Breland sold the business, while Gulf Coast's Ocean Springs, Mississippi operation will be acquired separately by New Orleans-based Refreshments Solutions.

Milwaukee-based private equity firm Borgman Capital has acquired Birmingham, Alabama-based Southeastern Meats, a producer and distributor of frozen vegetables, meats, seafood and specialty items. Borgman said it will invest in Southeastern Meats' Pick 5 and Southeastern Vegetables programs and support the company's continued geographic expansion into the East Coast and Midwest.