Fortune International acquires Meat Processors Inc

Bensenville, Illinois U.S.A.-based Fortune International LLC has continued its string of acquisitions with the purchase of Green Bay, Wisconsin-based Meat Processors Inc. (MPI), a meat and seafood processor and distributor.

The exact terms of the acquisition were not disclosed by Fortune International.

MPI is a wholesale processor and distributor of meats and prepared foods. The company was founded in 1977 by current owners Jim and Doug Farah, and the company supplies customers with meat products and seafood products hand-cut to order.

“We are impressed with the business Doug and Jim have built over the last 44 years and thrilled to add their expertise, service level, and high-quality products to the Fortune Fish & Gourmet family,” Fortune International President and CEO Sean O’Scannlain said in a release.

The acquisition by Fortune is the second in just two weeks, and follows the company’s acquisition of Theodore, Alabama-based CCT Logistics Inc. – a 68,000 square-foot cold storage facility.

Fortune said that MPI’s processing and distribution facility will be converted to Fortune’s ERP, inventory management, and routing software.

“The addition of MPI positions Fortune Fish & Gourmet to better service the upper Midwest with expanded distribution capabilities,” Fortune said in a release.

The two acquisitions are a sign the company is continuing the aggressive acquisition strategy it launched in 2012 when it acquired JDY Gourmet. It represents, according to Fortune, the eleventh transaction since the launch of the strategy, which includes the acquisitions of Coastal Seafoods, Lobster Gram, the St. Louis and Kansas City operations of Morey’s Seafood International, Jubilee Seafood, and the Kansas City, Missouri operations of Seattle Fish.

Fortune International itself was acquired by Bahrain-based Investcorp in February 2020, which, according O'Scannlain, “further accelerated” its acquisition strategy. Investcorp is an investment firm with a reported USD 32 billion (EUR 27 billion) in assets.

Jim and Doug Farah said the acquisition will allow the company to expand the services it provides to its customers.

“We are excited to have this opportunity to join an organization with strength and depth of Fortune,” they said. “This relationship will give our customers and employees greater selection and opportunities.”