By Abigail Summerville
Dec 18 (Reuters) - Food company Cuisine Solutions, which makes egg bites for Starbucks and sous vide grass-fed beef sirloin for Costco, has hired investment banks to explore a sale next year that could value the private, family-owned company at over $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company has hired Morgan Stanley and Rothschild to run the sale process, the people said, requesting anonymity as the sale is private. Cuisine Solutions makes meats,
vegetables and other prepared foods for airlines, the military, restaurants and hotel chains around the world, including Hilton.
Cuisine Solutions, Rothschild and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
The Sterling, Virginia-based company pioneered the sous vide cooking style, which is French for "under vacuum." Chair Stanislas Vilgrain founded the company in 1971 and he and his relatives are the majority owners.
In 2022, Bain Capital came in as a minority investor, providing $250 million to accelerate the company's growth and global expansion. Bain also declined to comment.
Sous vide is a slow-cooking technique where food is sealed and cooked in water at precise times and temperatures. Then, the food can be frozen and stored for long periods of time before getting reheated to serve.
(Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York; Editing by Dawn Kopecki and Lisa Shumaker)
