Simpson Thacher represented affiliates of Palladium Equity Partners, LLC in connection with their significant investment in Del Real, LLC (“Del Real”), a Hispanic refrigerated foods company. The transaction closed on October 7, 2016. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Del Real was founded in 2002 by the Cardenas family, which will retain an interest in the company. Deeply rooted in traditional family and cultural recipes, Del Real manufactures a variety of heat-and-serve Hispanic food products, including carnitas, barbacoa, rice and bean dishes and tamales and salsas. Del Real’s products are primarily sold in the western U.S., with customers that include large club stores, supermarkets, national restaurant chains, broad line foodservice distributors, delicatessens and other retail outlets.
The Simpson Thacher team included Marni Lerner, Jihyun Chung, Kyle Brett and Mark Viera (M&A); James Cross, Amy Ward, Andrew Yong and Jennifer Poon (Banking and Credit); Larry Moss, Jennifer Pepin and Joo Hyun Lee (Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits); Adeeb Fadil and Louise Kruger (Environmental); John Creed and Michael Badain (Tax); Olga Gutman, Linda Tieh and Sage Hughes (Funds); and Lori Lesser and Amber Harezlak (Intellectual Property).