Investment Firms Launch CPG SPAC

AF Ventures has joined the SPAC club.

The CPG venture fund once known as Accel Foods has combined forces with two other firms to launch a publicly traded “blank check” company to target more consumer brands. Together with Scharf Brothers and Mistral Equity Partners, AF Acquisitions will initially offer 20 million shares at $10 each in an attempt to raise up to $200 million for its initial public offering.

The SPAC will look for an acquisition in the “better-for-you consumer packaged goods industry,” specifically food, beverage, health and wellness, beauty, pet or personal care sectors. The group is particularly interested in “digitally native brands, communities and platforms” that already have strong engagement and loyal customers, but that can be expanded into brick and mortar retailers as well. Targets will also have strong margins, dedicated customers and the ability to prove, through metrics, that there is (and will continue to be) consumer demand for their products.

AF Acquisitions, trading under AFAQU, will be led by CEO Jordan Gaspar, one of the original managing partners at AF Ventures, alongside chairman Andrew Scharf, chief investment officer of family office Scharf Brothers, and CFO Christopher Bradley, a managing director at Mistral Equity Partners. Independent director nominees for AF Acquisitions include Andrew Heyer, CEO of Mistral Equity Partners, Mary Fox, general manager for North America consumer products at BIC and Nola Weinstein, global head of culture at brand experience at Twitter. The firm will be based in Palm Beach, where Scharf Brothers is located.

AF Ventures currently has 30 portfolio companies, including Goodfish, Wandering Bear Coffee, Good Day Chocolate and Kidfresh, with three exits since its inception in 2014. Scharf Brothers, which invested in public and private companies, private equity, hedge funds and real estate, has acquired, owned and operated 21 businesses across a variety of industries. The group has also played a role in two prior SPACs. Finally, Mistral Equity Partners, which invests in consumer, retail, restaurant, media and related technology and services businesses, has sponsored four previous SPACs.

In the filing, the three firms note that they have worked together in the past. Over their history together, Scharf Brothers and Mistral Equity partners have invested in AF Ventures, sat on their investment committee, made co-investments with the fund or served on the board of directors of their portfolio brands. The three decided to launch a SPAC in order to offer companies a new way of obtaining capital beyond the traditional fund model.

“We have decided to pursue this endeavor in order to expand on the vision of our partnership; to provide capital in creative and thoughtful ways to pioneering companies entering the next phase of accelerated growth,” the filing notes.

As listed in the filing, AF Acquisitions is not prohibited from pursuing a transaction with a company that is affiliated with AF Ventures, Scharf Brothers, Mistral Equity Partners or any of the company’s officers or directors

AF would not comment citing SEC regulations.