Lowenstein Sandler LLP represented Food52, the premier kitchen and home brand, in closing an $83 million investment by TCG Capital Management (“TCG”), an affiliate of The Chernin Group, LLC, to finance Food52’s continued growth and expansion.
Food52 is a leading innovator in the food, cooking, and home space with a monthly reach of more than 16 million people. It sells more than 5,000 kitchen and home goods through its e-commerce platform, and has been recognized four times by Inc. as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America on its Inc. 5000 list.
“We’ve worked with co-founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs on Food52 for years and were delighted to help with this private equity transaction as what once was a fledgling New York-based startup has become a thriving growth company at scale,” said Ed Zimmerman, partner and Chair of Emerging Companies & Venture Capital (fka, The Tech Group) at Lowenstein, who, together with Alex D. Leibowitz (another partner in Lowenstein’s Emerging Companies & Venture Capital (fka, The Tech Group)) led the deal team in this transaction. “The founders had star power from their best-selling cookbooks, James Beard Award, and from Amanda’s stint as Food Editor of the New York Times Magazine, but it took true entrepreneurial skill and grit to grow this startup, so they’ve really proven their versatility!”
Food52 plans to use this new capital infusion to open a brick-and-mortar retail flagship and to expand its Five Two line, its direct-to-consumer products for kitchen, home, and life, which have become the most profitable brand in the Food52 Shop. It will also use the investment to fuel business development and strategic partnerships and supercharge its content, video, and product and engineering teams, equipping them to grow the business into its next decade.
The Lowenstein Sandler deal team was led by deal lawyers Ed Zimmerman and Alex D. Leibowitz, with tax support from Brian A. Silikovitz and James E. Gregory (executive compensation). The Lowenstein attorneys on the team were Robert W. Lynn, Pooja Patel, Elias Kwon, Bianka V. Barraza, and Matthew J. Moisan, with subject matter expertise from Sophia S. Mokotoff (tax), Megan Monson (executive compensation), Leah Satlin (commercial contracts), Taryn E. Cannataro (executive compensation), and Eric Jesse (insurance).
