Houlihan Lokey Advises A. Zerega's Sons

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that A. Zerega's Sons, Inc. (Zerega) has been acquired by the Philadelphia Macaroni Company (PMC). The transaction closed on April 30, 2020.

Headquartered in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, Zerega was founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1848 by Antoine Zerega, a French émigré of Italian descent. The company has been continuously owned and operated by the Zerega-Vermylen family since its founding. Zerega is an industry-leading manufacturer of specialty pasta, providing its customers with the widest range of dry pasta shapes in North America. The company serves its diverse range of customers in segments, including foodservice and chain, co-packaging and retail, industrial, and government. The company currently employs more than 260 professionals across two manufacturing facilities in Lee's Summit, Missouri, and Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

PMC is a fifth-generation, family-owned dry pasta manufacturer and miller. Founded in 1914 and headquartered in Philadelphia, PMC has pasta factories located in Grand Forks, North Dakota; Spokane, Washington; and Harrisburg and Warminster, Pennsylvania. The company employs approximately 350 factory and administrative staff members. PMC manufactures dry pasta, frozen pasta, and private-label macaroni and cheese, and supplies bulk pasta to other food manufacturers for inclusion in their finished retail products. PMC also mills durum and hard red spring wheat for internal use and for sale on the open market through its Minot Milling Company subsidiary, which is located in North Dakota. All pasta and milling facilities are kosher, organic, and BRC certified.

This deal represents another successful transaction for Houlihan Lokey in the food and beverage industry.