A Milwaukee company is raising $10 million to buy a 51 percent stake in a Virginia organic food manufacturer with Milwaukee roots.
Armada Equity Sky Valley LLC, which was formed in August, had raised $1.45 million of the total from 14 investors as of Sept. 13, when it filed notice of the offering with the SEC. The target maximum offering is $10 million.
The effort is being led by Scott Lurie, chief executive officer of Armada, who is involved with a number of other area companies, including Jomela Properties and F Street Capital. Eric Lenzen of Husch Blackwell and Adam Peck of Riverwater Partners are directors.
According to the SEC filing, the offering is being made to acquire about 51 percent of the equity interest of Danville, Virginia-based Sky Valley Foods LLC. Sky Valley makes organic and natural salad dressings and specialty sauces, such as marinades, condiments, salsa and pasta sauce under the Bella’s, Organicville and Simply Delicious brands. The company was formed in 2011, when Milwaukee-based Organicville merged with Wizard’s Cauldron. Organicville was founded in 2004 by Rachel Kruse, a Mequon resident and longtime friend of the Armada leaders, Lurie said.
Lurie expects Armada to reach its $10 million total soon and close the offering on Sept. 22. Most of the investors are from the Milwaukee area, he said.
“The company needed some capital to continue its growth,” he said.
A Milwaukee company called Armada Equity Partners LLC also was formed in August.
