Lincoln International (“Lincoln”), a leading global mid-market investment bank, is pleased to announce that Bento Sushi (“Bento” or the “Company”) has been acquired by Yo! Sushi, a portfolio company of Mayfair Equity Partners.
Bento Sushi is North America’s second largest sushi supplier and a widely recognized brand. The Company sells its products through multiple channels, including retail, quick service restaurants and on-site sushi kiosks located in leading grocery chains, airports, academic institutions, hospitals, entertainment arenas and more. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Markham, Ontario, Bento leads the market with a reputation for creative product development and innovative new menu items, all manufactured with the highest quality ingredients. In total, the Company operates over 600 retail locations and six commissaries and supplies its products to more than 1,700 partner sites.
Bento Chairman, Ken Valvur, commented, “Lincoln provided us with exceptional guidance, optionality and, ultimately, an ideal partner in Yo! Sushi. Lincoln’s industry expertise and deep process knowledge proved invaluable at an inflexion point in our Company’s development and growth. The Lincoln team’s ability to articulately convey the unique attributes of our business model and generate excitement for our growth story was critical to our outcome.”
Bento CEO, Glenn Brown, also remarked, “Lincoln worked side-by-side with us through every stage of the transaction. Their senior team was deeply engaged throughout the process, providing expert advice that made a significant difference in our result. I am excited to partner with Yo! Sushi to continue to grow the Company.”
Lincoln acted as the investment banking representative of Bento, working closely with the Company’s management team and shareholders to establish the new partnership. This included providing advisory expertise and managing the preparatory, marketing, negotiation and due diligence phases of the transaction. The sale of Bento demonstrates Lincoln’s strong track record in the restaurants sector, as well as the ethnic food products and foodservice categories.
November 30, 2017