The Lyons Magnus headquarters in Fresno, alongside the logos of Lyons Magnus and Los Angeles private equity firm Truelink Capital, which has acquired the specialty ingredients and beverage manufacturer. Photo illustration by Israel Meave/The Business Journal
published on July 21, 2026 – 11:25 AM
Written by Frank Lopez
Los Angeles-based private equity firm Truelink Capital has acquired Fresno-based Lyons Magnus, a manufacturer of specialty ingredients, beverage and nutrition solutions, from Paine Schwartz Partners, according to a company news release.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Truelink Capital acquired Lyons Magnus for roughly $1 billion, including debt.
Founded in 1852 and headquartered in Fresno, Lyons Magnus develops and manufactures specialty ingredients and beverage products for business customers serving coffeehouses, quick-service restaurants, foodservice operators and healthcare providers.
Its product portfolio includes syrups, sauces, beverage concentrates, smoothie bases and healthcare nutrition products. According to the company, Lyons Magnus operates four manufacturing facilities and two distribution hubs that support customers nationwide.
Truelink tied the acquisition to rising demand for specialty drinks consumed outside the home — a category Lyons supplies with its ingredients and flavors. Truelink Capital said it plans to build on the company’s existing business through organic growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions.
“Lyons is a well-established business with a market-leading position in the attractive and growing specialty ingredients category,” Todd Golditch, co-founder and managing partner of Truelink Capital, said in a statement. He added that the company was positioned to benefit from “the increasing importance of beverage innovation in the away-from-home category and growing demand for healthcare and nutrition solutions.”
Jim Davis, chief executive officer of Lyons Magnus, said the company expects the partnership to support continued innovation and expansion.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Truelink Capital as we enter this exciting next chapter for Lyons Magnus,” Davis said in a statement.
The acquisition represents the second platform investment from Truelink Capital’s Fund II. The firm, based in Los Angeles, manages more than $4 billion in assets and focuses on investments in industrial and business services companies.
Evercore and William Blair served as financial advisors to Lyons Magnus, while Stifel advised Truelink Capital on the transaction.
Lyons Magnus remains one of Fresno’s longest-operating food manufacturing companies and supplies ingredients and nutrition products to customers across the foodservice and healthcare industries.
The sale ends nearly a decade of ownership under Paine Schwartz, a New York agribusiness investor that bought Lyons from Fresno’s Smittcamp family in 2017. During that stretch Lyons expanded through acquisitions, including Wisconsin’s TRU Aseptics in 2019 and Hormel Health Labs in 2024.
Paine Schwartz became a familiar and, at times, contentious name in Valley agriculture. The firm invested in Wawona Packing Co. in 2017 and merged it with Gerawan Farming in 2019 to form Prima Wawona, then the nation’s largest stone fruit producer. Prima Wawona filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2023 and liquidated more than 13,000 acres of farmland. Grower Dan Gerawan, ousted as CEO in 2020, sued Paine Schwartz in 2023, alleging the firm intentionally sank the company for financial gain.