Casper's Ice Cream sold to New York firm

Cache Valley’s Fat Boy has a new boss.

Casper’s Ice Cream, the Richmond company behind the Fat Boy brand of ice cream novelties, has been acquired by Mid-Ocean Partners, a New York City-based middle market private equity firm. Terms of the were transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1925 by Casper Merrill, Casper’s manufactures a broad array of frozen novelty and ice cream products, including ice cream sandwiches, cones, bars, sticks, cups and other formats. The company operates three manufacturing facilities. The company primarily sells through the FatBoy brand but also sells the Jolly Llama and ChurnBaby brands.

MidOcean said intends to accelerate the company’s growth and drive value through organic initiatives and strategic mergers and acquisitions. Casper’s represents MidOcean’s second investment in branded food in the past six months following the acquisition of Louisiana Fish Fry in July.

Casper’s will continue under the current senior management team, including CEO Kyle Smith and executive vice presidents Keith Lawes and Shane Petersen.

“We are excited to partner with MidOcean to continue driving outsized growth for Casper’s,” said Smith. “MidOcean has an impressive track record in executing transformational growth. Their partnership, expertise and industry knowledge will enable us to dedicate our focus to key areas of our strategy, such as investment in our people and organic sales growth, which will come from expanded distribution and enhanced go-to-market strategy. We look forward to continue serving our customers and end consumers — existing and new — across the country.”

“MidOcean has been evaluating opportunities in the branded food category for a number of years, with a specific focus on the highly attractive frozen novelty category. We are honored to be a part of the Casper’s family and look forward to being great stewards of legacy built by the Merrills over the last 95+ years, including the company’s commitment to service leadership, philanthropy and community relations,” said Daniel Penn, managing director at MidOcean. “We are thrilled to partner with Casper’s exceptional management team for the company’s next phase of growth. Our focus in branded food has been in partnership with a host of MidOcean operating partners, including Steve Spinner, who will serve as chairman of the Casper’s board. Joining Steve on the board will be MidOcean operating partner D.J. Jenson and Maura Mottolese, the former CEO of Cholula and Tate’s Bake Shop.”

Casper’s has been owned by the Merrill family for over 95 years. Paul Merrill, a third-generation family member, has overseen the company’s growth over the past 15 years as Casper’s has expanded into multiple brands and new geographies supported by investments in manufacturing capacity.

“Having grown up in this business, I’m honored to follow in the footsteps of my grandfather, Casper Merrill, in pursuing the next phase of growth for Casper’s with a talented new partner in MidOcean and with the management team led by Kyle, Keith and Shane, all of whom helped drive us to this point,” said Merrill. “This transaction secures FatBoy’s position as a national brand leader in novelty ice cream. I could not be more excited to see where the FatBoy brand can go with additional resources and talented people at the table.”