Manischewitz

Manischewitz /ˌmænəˈʃɛvɪts/ is a leading brand of kosher products based in the United States, best known for their matzo and kosher wine. Founded in 1888, it became a public corporation in 1923 and remained under family control until 1990, when it was bought out by a private equity firm. On April 7, 2014, Sankaty Advisors, an arm of private equity firm Bain Capital, bought the company from a group including investment firm Harbinger. It is the world's largest matzo manufacturer and one of America's largest kosher brands.

History

The B. Manischewitz Company, LLC was founded by Rabbi Dov Behr Manischewitz, in 1888 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company built a second production site in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1932, to better serve the large Jewish community of the New York metropolitan area, and the Cincinnati facility was eventually closed in 1958. In 1990 a $1 million fine was levied against the company for price fixing with its two main competitors at the time, Streit's and Horowitz. The Company went public in 1923 and remained a public corporation until it was taken private in a management buyout led by Kohlberg & Company in 1990 for $42.5 million. In 1998, Richard A. Bernstein purchased the company from Kohlberg. In 2004 its name was changed to R.A.B. Food Group, LLC and today is known as The Manischewitz Company. From 2007 to 2014, Manischewitz was owned by the hedge fund Harbinger Capital. Manischewitz remains the world's top matzo manufacturer and one of America's top kosher brands.