Harris Williams, a Richmond, Va.-based global investment bank specializing in merger and acquisition advisory services, has advised Lancaster Foods, a diversified produce wholesaler and subsidiary of Guest Services Inc., on its sale to The Coastal Companies, a Laurel-based portfolio company of Continental Grain’s Arlon Group.
Founded in 1986, Lancaster Foods operates a 220,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art distribution and processing center in Jessup. With nearly 600 employees, the company wholesales diversified produce. The Coastal Companies is a source for produce distribution, processing and prepared foods from Maine to Florida. Coastal and its subsidiaries – Coastal Sunbelt Produce, East Coast Fresh, Hearn Kirkwood and Lancaster Foods – operate 650,000 square feet of refrigerated space across four facilities.