Citation Capital, a private equity firm, has secured a controlling stake in the food manufacturer Cibo Vita through an acquisition.
Established in 2009, Cibo Vita specializes in creating natural and health-focused snacks, with its renowned flagship brand, Nature’s Garden. The company is headquartered in Totowa, New Jersey, and runs three manufacturing facilities, employing a workforce exceeding 900 individuals.
Cibo Vita and Citation will collaborate to foster the company’s expansion, all the while fulfilling their mission of providing intelligent snack choices for households.
As per Cibo Vita, Citation is set to become the company’s inaugural external shareholder, with Co-Founders Emre Imamoglu (CEO) and Ahmet Celik (president) retaining a substantial ownership interest.
Imamoglu said, “Our vision in founding Cibo Vita was to bring healthier snacking options to all families, inspired by our Mediterranean roots. Throughout our history, we have experienced phenomenal growth, attributed to our innovation capabilities, commitment to quality and a drive to meet the needs of consumers increasingly seeking healthier functional snacking. We sought out a strategic partner that could help ensure that we stay on the forefront of innovation and who is aligned with our personal core values.”
Tiffany K Hagge, Citation’s Founder and managing partner, added, “Emre and Ahmet started from an idea, believing that they could bring better snacking habits to North American consumers, and put everything they had into building Cibo Vita into a highly innovative, profitable business that provides value-added services and products to some of the most coveted customers in North America.
“Cibo Vita exemplifies Citation’s investment philosophy in backing fundamentally strong, defensible businesses with exceptional cultures and shared values, helping them to become ‘best in class’ in their segment through strategic partnership, operational excellence and a relentless focus on execution.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.