Dwyane Wade, Dak Prescott and More Score Profit Off Cholula $800M Deal

A number of big-name professional athletes will be cashing in on McCormick’s $800 million acquisition of Cholula. According to Forbes, Dwyane Wade, Travis Kelce, Dak Prescott, Victor Oladipo, J.J. Watt, and Ryan Tannehill are expected to see a return of around four times in their investment in the hot sauce company. 

In December 2018, the private equity firm L Catterton bought Cholula for an undisclosed amount. The aforementioned athletes were directed to L Catterton through the investment platform Partricof Co., which provides them with free financial advice but also comes with the expectation of a $500,000 annual investment that would be put towards other private equity deals. 

For someone like Kelce, however, getting him to initially invest in Cholula was a no-brainer because “it is fun to get behind a brand that you already love.”

The relationship between these high-profile athletes and Patricof Co. ends up working for both parties. The investment platform serves as a bridge to help these athletes profit off of deals like the one with McCormick, while they can help create unique experiences, specifically for investors. 

As for the Cholula deal, McCormick is banking on a steady improvement on the company’s net sales of roughly $96 million per year. This acquisition helps McCormick corner a thriving hot sauce market that has seen sales in the United States rise 9.7 percent every year over the last four years. In that same span, McCormick has bought Cholula and Frank’s RedHot, which accounts for 30 percent of those U.S. sales figures.