SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): February 2, 1996
Sparta Foods, Inc.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Minnesota
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)
000-19318 41-1618240
(Commission File Number) (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)
2570 Kasota Avenue
St. Paul, Minnesota 55108
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
(612) 646-1888
(Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Not Applicable
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
<PAGE>
Item 5. Other Events
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to
the information published for release on February 5, 1996 filed as
Exhibit 20.1.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Sparta Foods, Inc.
Date: February 5, 1996 By /s/ A. Merrill Ayers
A. Merrill Ayers
Chief Financial Officer
<PAGE>
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
EXHIBIT INDEX
to
FORM 8-K
Sparta Foods, Inc.
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Exhibit
Number Exhibit Description
20.1 Press Release dated February 5, 1996
FROM: FOR:
Swenson/Falker Associates Inc. Sparta Foods, Inc.
121 South Eighth St., Suite 1111 2570 Kasota Avenue
Minneapolis, Minn. 55402 St. Paul, Minn. 55108
Contact: Doug Ewing (612) 371-0000 Contact: A. Merrill Ayers, CFO
(612) 646-1888
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SPARTA FOODS COMPLETES $1.3 MILLION PRIVATE EQUITY PLACEMENT
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ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 5 -- Sparta Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPFO), a leading
regional producer and distributor of tortillas, tortilla chips and salsas for
the retail food and food service industries, announced today that it has
completed a private equity placement of $1,280,000, including significant
investments by management of the company, directors to be elected at the
company's annual shareholders meeting, and a group of private investors led by
John G. Kinnard and Company, Incorporated. The private equity financing resulted
in the issuance of 2,560,000 equity units, each unit consisting of one share of
common stock at 50 cents per share, and a warrant to purchase an additional
share of common stock at 75 cents per share. The warrants are exercisable for a
three-year period. Sparta Foods' October 1995 private debt financing of $400,000
is being converted into the new equity. As a result of the private offering,
Sparta Foods' outstanding common shares have increased to 6,622,799 shares. Joel
P. Bachul, president and chief executive officer, said, "We raised considerably
more equity capital than our original objective of $1,000,000. The retirement of
the earlier debt financing and the availability of more than $800,000 in
additional working capital funds are essential ingredients in Sparta Foods'
return to profitability. All of the factors are now in place to achieve renewed
growth and a substantial improvement in future results." The company also said
that it has entered into a 10-year lease agreement with Photran Corporation,
Lakeville, Minn., for the lease of Sparta Foods' Lakeville facility. Terms of
the lease, which provides an option to purchase, were not disclosed. The
45,000-square-foot facility was formerly used by Sparta for tortilla and
tortilla chip production. All Lakeville operations were previously relocated to
Sparta Foods' production facility in St. Paul. A. Merrill Ayers, chief financial
officer, said, "We are pleased to complete the leasing of our Lakeville
facility. Our objective was to reduce expense by locating all of Sparta Foods'
production operations at one site. The relocation was completed in the fourth
quarter of fiscal 1995 and leasing the property was key to realizing the cost
efficiencies that we anticipate in the future. Consolidating production
facilities was only one of many actions we have taken to reduce our expense
ratios and restore Sparta Foods to profitability." Sparta Foods, headquartered
in St. Paul, Minn., is a regional market leader in the production and
distribution of Mexican-style food products to the food service and retail foods
industries. The company manufactures a broad line of Mexican-style food products
which includes tortillas, tortilla chips, picante and other salsas through its
wholly owned subsidiary, LaCanasta of Minnesota, Inc. Sparta Foods distributes
its Mexican-style food products to retail grocery chains under the LaCanasta(R),
Cruz(R), Mexitos(R), La Campana Paradiso(R), and Chapala(R) labels.
02/05/96
