Lacerta Group, a designer and manufacturer of specialty thermoformed packaging solutions, has secured strategic investment from funds advised by SK Capital Partners, a New York-based private investment firm focused exclusively on the specialty materials, chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors.SK Capital is acquiring a majority interest in the business. Lacerta’s co-founders, Ali and Mory Lotfi, will continue to retain a significant ownership stake in the Company. Terms of the deal have not been announced.
Privately held since it was founded in 1993, Lacerta is a leading provider of innovative packaging solutions primarily serving the food sector. The Company offers a comprehensive range of custom PET packaging products, including a leading line of tamper-evident products sold under the “Fresh N’ Sealed” brand. Lacerta has experienced top-line growth of 25 per cent annually since 2013 driven by a customer-centric model that is supported by product innovation and fulfilment through its extensive in-house manufacturing capabilities. Given that the vast majority of its products are 100% recyclable, and the packaging solutions produced by the Company can be made with up to 100% recycled content, Lacerta promotes a more circular and sustainable approach to food packaging.
Lacerta offers a complete range of manufacturing services, from concept development, prototyping and mold making, to thermoforming, extrusion, printing and quality assurance. The Company operates thermoforming machines capable of producing millions of packages per year. It also has CNC milling machines for mould making and in-house prototyping thermoformers to help turn around prototypes – usually within one week. In a rapid response to the needs created by the current pandemic, the Company has also developed a face shield made from PET resin for use by healthcare and retail workers.
“Ali, Mory and the Lacerta team have built an exceptional business with a best-in-class reputation for customer service, innovation and sustainable products,” says Jack Norris, Managing Director of SK Capital. “We look forward to partnering with Ali and Mory to support the continuation of Lacerta’s extraordinary growth. Our mutual focus is on preserving Lacerta’s customer-centric approach, which is highly differentiated in the market, while at the same time putting in place the required systems, processes and capabilities that will enable the Company to scale alongside its expanding customer base.”
“Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Lacerta,” says Lacerta President Ali Lotfi. “We chose to partner with SK Capital given its track record of successfully supporting the growth and improvement of family-owned businesses and the fit between our needs and SK’s capabilities. Our organizations share the same core values and long-term orientation that have been a hallmark of Lacerta’s success to date. We are aligned in our vision to build Lacerta into a world-class packaging solutions provider.”
SK Capital Senior Director Dave Mezzanotte, adds: “We view Lacerta as a platform that can be grown in a multitude of ways to serve a wider range of its customers’ requirements. We’re especially excited about the opportunity Lacerta has to enable its customers to meet their internal sustainability targets by utilizing packaging that’s fully recyclable and incorporating recycled content at increasingly higher levels.”
Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal counsel to SK Capital, and debt financing was led by Citizens Bank, NA. Citizens M&A Advisory acted as exclusive financial advisor to Lacerta.
