Food service firm looks to net $7M in variety of property, business deals

Innovative Food Holdings, a publicly traded company that caters to professional and home chefs, has made progress on five deals — involving both property and business units — expected to net the company at least $7 million.

The Bonita Springs firm, which posted $80.1 million in revenue in 2022, is publicly traded over the counter (symbol: IVFH). The deals were discussed during the company’s Nov. 9 third-quarter earnings call. The latest updates, according to a Dec. 18 statement, include: 

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• The company has received and accepted an offer to sell its building in Bonita Springs. The sale, expected to close in approximately 60 days, is projected to net the firm about $1.9 million in cash, after fees and net of debt, 
• It listed its e-commerce fulfillment center in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, north of Allentown, for sale or lease through national commercial broker CBRE. Innovative Food CEO Bill Bennett, in the statement, says that sale could “net us an additional $5-9 million in cash, net of debt and fees.”
• It entered into an agreement with Sampford Advisors Inc., a technology M&A advisory firm, to “run the process of exploring strategic alternatives for the company’s e-commerce business.”
• It signed a letter of intent to sell its Grow Brand Management consulting business for $225,000, inclusive of working capital, to the current manager of that entity. The deal is expected to close in the next 30-60 days.
• The company has entered into an agreement to sell its minority stake in a small e-commerce startup called Curdbox.com. The sale, for an undisclosed amount, is expected to close by the end of the year.

“As we progress through my first year with the company, it’s critical that we continue to make progress towards our ‘100/10 Plan,’ by achieving our first $100 million in revenue and $10 million in adjusted EBITDA,” Bennett says in the statement. “We are highly focused on first stabilizing the company, then reallocating resources, capital, and focus to our core, profitable business. Between our Artisan Specialty Foods distribution business unit, and our Food Innovations drop ship business unit, I continue to be excited by the significant new customer and channel opportunities we are pursuing with the additional focus and resources we are unlocking for the team.”