John Antonucci Talks About Finding a Merger and Acquisition Advisor and Selling Antonucci Foods.

Venture 7 Advisors recently announced the sale of Antonucci Foods, a New York State wholesale distributor of produce, seafood, meats and poultry, to Harvest Prime LLC. Venture 7 served as the exclusive merger and acquisition advisor to the seller in this transaction.

Antonucci Foods.

Antonucci Foods is a family-founded and -operated company. It serves independent restaurants, institutional kitchens, resorts, casinos and retailers within a 120-mile radius of their facility in central New York — a wide area which includes the Albany Capital District, Saratoga, Kingston, and Lake George.

In addition to its long-established produce distribution operation, Antonucci Foods is also the largest HAACP-certified custom, hand-cut seafood facility in upstate New York. Fresh seafood is hauled from Eastern shores three times a week.

We sat down recently, after the closing, for a conversation with the former owner John Antonucci. These are excerpts from that conversation:

Finding a Merger and Acquisition Advisor.

“When I started planning for my retirement a few years ago, I asked some of my business contacts if they could recommend an M&A advisor. I interviewed three firms – one from Boston, one from New York, and Venture 7. Once I met you guys, there was no question that I would go with you. I built our company by going with my gut instincts for more than 40 years, and right away I could sense your sincerity, your understanding of my goals, and your enthusiasm about selling our company. The big-city firms didn’t seem to care that much about my business.”

“Pre-preparing”.

“The Venture 7 team dove really deeply into understanding our business and our competitive landscape – how the industry works and who all the players are – and you understood the value that we bring to our customers. I was impressed with how you did your homework. I called it ‘pre-preparing’”.

Timing Is Everything - Covid.

“I started planning for the sale well in advance, but Covid happened and we had to put the sale on hold. We were scrambling because restaurants and institutional kitchens closed down. But then some of our customers geared up their takeout operations, so demand rebounded to an extent. But there were a lot of product shortages that we had to manage. We came through it well because we had the resources and the know-how to help our customers get what they needed. Maybe we couldn’t get a truckload of bacon, but we could get four palettes, because we had the contacts and the relationships. And we hustled. Because of Covid, the process of selling the business took longer than I expected.”

Choosing The Right Buyer - Best Fit vs Best Sale Price.

“Once we decided to launch the sales effort, Venture 7 generated a lot of interest, and we had serious discussions with a short list of four buyers who were bidding to buy the company. When we met Juan and Wes from Harvest Prime, I knew that they were the people who could take the company forward in the right way. I liked the personal vibe I got from them. They’re very smart young guys and they had the financial backing to make the deal happen and grow the business. They weren’t the highest bidder, but I liked their commitment to providing distribution for local growers, and they have great connections with 200 customers and about 150 regional farms. I really didn’t want to sell the company to a big outfit because I wanted to make sure that the operation stays in our facility and that our team will remain in place. They got that.”

“It's a great fit between the two companies. I’m actually excited to tell people who I sold Antonucci Foods to. Together the combination of Antonucci and Harvest Prime is going to be the major player in our region.”

On working with Venture 7 Advisors.

”Venture 7 is a great team. All four of your partners make different contributions and I feel that my original instinct about working with you was totally right. Together we made sure that Antonucci Foods ended up in good hands, and now I’m moving on with my life. Good outcome!”

About Venture 7 Advisors:

Venture 7 Advisors is a team of merger and acquisition advisors who assist the owners of small and mid-sized companies to plan and complete the sale of their business. We find the best buyer to meet each business owner’s financial and legacy goals. We represent clients in consumer products, distribution, manufacturing, B2B services, construction, telecommunications, and eCommerce from offices in Burlington, Vermont, the Hudson Valley, New York, and Western Massachusetts.    

We're here to talk about your situation, provide information, discuss your options, and put things in perspective. Contact us at any time:

Bryan Ducharme

Managing Partner

Email Bryan

Mobile: 802 578 6462