Sovos Brands, which sells premium food brands including Rao's and noosa, filed on Friday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. However, the deal size is likely a placeholder for an IPO that we estimate could raise up to $400 million.
Formed by Advent International, Sovos Brands offers a select group of acquired premium food brands including Italian food and sauce brand Rao's, yogurt brand noosa, better-for-you pancake and waffle mix brand Birch Benders, and Italian frozen meal brand Michael Angelo's. According to the company, its largest brand of products, Rao's, included the #1 selling SKU in the pasta and pizza sauce category (Rao’s Homemade 24oz marinara) by dollar sales in the twelve months ended June 13, 2021. Sovos Brands plans to continue its focus on acquiring, integrating, and growing unique and quality food brands.
The Louisville, CO-based company was founded in 2017 and booked $650 million in sales for the 12 months ended June 30, 2021. It plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol SOVO. Sovos Brands filed confidentially on April 16, 2021. J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities, Credit Suisse, Barclays, UBS Investment Bank, Cowen, Piper Sandler, Stifel, and William Blair are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.
