Dive Brief:
- Los Angeles-based private equity firm Butterfly Equity announced Tuesday it has agreed to acquire Sayreville, New Jersey-based Sabert, a notable player in the food packaging and hot and cold food service product markets.
- Butterfly said the deal furthers its strategy of investing in “businesses that power the evolving food and beverage segment, including packaging.” The firm previously acquired digitally printed flexible packaging specialist ePac in January.
- They expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter. Financial terms were not disclosed. Albert Salama, founder and executive chairman of Sabert, will remain a minority investor.
Dive Insight:
The privately held packaging company was founded in 1983 and reports having around 3,000 employees today. Sabert’s offerings span plastic, paper and molded fiber, serving grocery, restaurant and other food and beverage customers.
The company has 13 manufacturing facilities globally, growing with the acquisition of U.K.-based Colpac last year. It has nine manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and opened a fifth U.S. distribution center in Georgia last month, which it called “one of the company’s most significant recent supply chain investments.”
Sabert is also in the PCR business; the company established a recycling facility in New Jersey in 2012 called Nuvida, which last year received the Association of Plastic Recyclers’ PCR Certification for its full range of recycled resins. Sabert announced its new 2030 sustainability target this year to ensure that 85% of its net sales come from products that are recyclable, compostable or reusable, with claims backed by third-party certifications or industry-recognized guidelines.
“Sabert is exactly the type of business we look for at Butterfly: a category-leading player with deep roots across the food ecosystem, differentiated capabilities and tremendous opportunities for continued growth,” Adam Waglay, co-founder, CEO and managing partner at Butterfly, said in a statement. Butterfly Equity recently added an East Coast hub with the opening of a New York City office.
