Arlon Group acquires The Coastal Companies

June 16, 2015

Arlon Group, a food and agriculture investment firm focused on investing in the Americas, announced that it has, in partnership with the existing management team, acquired The Coastal Companies, based in Savage MD. Coastal is a distributor and processor of fresh produce and dairy products in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It was founded as Coastal Sunbelt Produce in 1992 and operates a fleet of 175 trucks, delivering daily to more than 2,000 customers across six East Coast states and the District of Columbia. The senior management team of Coastal will continue to lead the business, with John Corso serving as president and chief executive officer, Ross Foca as president of East Coast Fresh, Bob Lahmann as chief financial officer, and Larry Brown as executive vice-president of sales and purchasing. David Tanner, Chris Allen, and Peter Webel from Arlon Group and Jay Pack, a long-time produce industry executive, have joined the company’s board of directors.

Arlon Group works collaboratively across geographies, and its portfolio companies benefit from the team’s shared knowledge of regional and global trends. Its investment focus comes from its founding investor, Continental Grain Company, a 200-year-old leader in the food and agriculture space. Rabobank, a bank to the global food, beverage and agribusiness industry, is another key Arlon investor. The group has approximately $980 million in assets under management and is headquartered in New York with an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil. For more information, go to www.arlongroup.com. Founded in 1992 and based in Baltimore/Washington, The Coastal Companies and its subsidiaries, Coastal Sunbelt Produce and East Coast Fresh, operate a fleet of 175 trucks and deliver daily to foodservice customers. The company also serves retail and wholesale customers along the East Coast.