ATLANTA — Private equity firm ICV Partners (ICV) is investing in Mallet & Co., a maker of proprietary oils, ingredients and equipment used in the commercial baking industry.

Carnegie, Pa.-based Mallet’s three key products include release agents, which are proprietary oil formulations used to coat trays and baking pans used in baking; equipment solutions, including highly automated bread and bun pan oilers and cake pan greasers that spray release agents over targeted areas evenly and consistently; and specialty ingredients, such as icing stabilizers, emulsifiers, specialty shortenings and vegetable oils.

“ICV gave me a great sense of confidence to make the final decision to partner with them to further the growth of our company,” said Robert Mallet, chief executive officer of Mallet & Co. “I believe our employees and customers will benefit from this new relationship as we now have greater resources to make Mallet an even more valued partner to our customers.”

Mr. Mallet’s father founded the company, which sells its products primarily to large commercial bakeries, in 1939.
The investment in Mallet & Co. is not the first move into baking for ICV. Earlier, the company acquired Sterling Foods, a manufacturer of extended shelf life bakery and snack food products sold to the military. ICV sold Sterling Foods in 2008 for three times return on capital, and the company expects to leverage the knowledge it gained from its investment in Sterling to help Mallet’s future growth.

“Mallet has a history of customer focused product innovation and a robust product development pipeline,” said Ira Moreland, managing director at ICV. “Our goal is to leverage their technological edge to grow the business and expand throughout North America and beyond.”