The Healthy Lunch Box Has Been Acquired by Riveter Capital

1.12.2021

HOUSTON, TEXAS (December 1, 2021) – Statesman Corporate Finance, LLC (“Statesman”) is pleased to announce the sale of select assets of woman-owned and led Healthy Lunch Box, Inc. (“Healthy Lunch Box” and/or the “Company”) to Riveter Capital, a private equity firm focused on investing in women and minority-led companies. Statesman served as the exclusive sell-side financial advisor to Healthy Lunch Box on the transaction.

“Statesman did a great job of bringing prospective buyers to the table for my business of 26 years. I expected to do a lot of extra work throughout the sales process, but Statesman did an exceptional job of organizing the data which helped me immensely. I am so grateful we made it to the finish line!” – Company Founder, Theresa Barajas

Based in Texas and founded in 1996 by Theresa Barajas, Healthy Lunch Box provides cafeteria-style meals to charter schools, private schools, Head Start programs, health clinics, and adult-care centers. The company uses simple, traditional cooking methods to prepare nutritious menu items from scratch and operates out of its licensed commercial kitchen in north Houston.
“The Healthy Lunch Box team is very excited to partner with Riveter Capital for this next chapter in the company’s history,” said Founder Theresa Barajas. “Healthy Lunch Box has established itself as a trusted partner to schools and other organizations for serving nutritious meals and snacks, and we look forward to leveraging Riveter’s resources and deep experience in the industry to further grow the company in the years to come. Throughout my career, I have been passionate about empowering and supporting other women, and Riveter’s mission and thesis truly resonated with me and differentiated them.”
Nakita Johnson will be joining the company as president and brings decades of school business experience, child nutrition knowledge, and extensive industry insight and relationships. Commenting on the opportunity, she said, “I am thrilled to be joining the Healthy Lunch Box and Riveter Capital teams. Having spent the last several years on the customer side of the business, I understand what Healthy Lunch Box’s customers want and need. The company has the foundation for providing excellent quality meals and I am focused on building upon that reputation.”
Charter schools, the company’s largest client base, have grown in popularity amid the pandemic; in particular, Texas charter school enrollment was up nearly ~9% for 2020-21 from the previous academic year. Healthy Lunch Box provides meals under several mandates including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), one of the most important and successful nutrition programs in the country. During Covid-19, a time when millions of families faced financial strain and hunger, the USDA extended waivers to allow reimbursed school and childcare center meals to all students regardless of their income. Healthy Lunch Box is prepared to service the increased demand and continue supporting underserved communities to address food insecurity issues.
“Healthy Lunch Box has an impressive history and strong reputation as a key player in school catering in Texas. Being Riveter’s first investment, we are excited to honor the legacy of Theresa and continue to drive growth at the company alongside Nakita and the rest of the Healthy Lunch Box team,” said Riveter Partner Colleen Gurda.

About the other transaction participants 

Statesman Corporate Finance, LLC (Houston & Austin, TX) is the FINRA-licensed broker dealer affiliate of Statesman Business Advisors, LLC. With offices in Houston and Austin, Texas, Statesman is a leading middle-market investment banking firm providing merger and acquisition, capital formation, valuation, and other general corporate financial advisory services to middle-market companies. The team advising on this engagement was led by Jessica Seff, Vice President , and included Will Jaco, Principal, Peter Chiu, Vice President and Philip Rodriguez, Associate.

Riveter Capital (New York, NY) is a private equity firm focused on investing in lower middle-market women- and minority-owned or operated businesses that they understand as both investors and consumers. They empower founders by providing hands-on strategic, financial, and operational support to help take companies to the next level. With a flexible investing mandate, they provide capital for acquisitions, management buyouts, recapitalizations, growth, and expansion.

Spence, Desenberg & Lee, PLLC (Houston, TX) provided legal counsel to Healthy Lunch Box led by Member Dana L. Desenberg and Associate John Fields.

DLA Piper (Minneapolis, MN) provided legal counsel to Riveter Capital led by Partners Poonam Kumar, Jamila Justine Willis, SeoJung Park and Associates Ashley Bailey-Chang and Katie Allison.

Finch CPA Firm PLLC (Houston, TX) provided accounting advisory to Healthy Lunch Box led by Sandra Finch, CPA, CFP and Marie Emmons.

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