A holding company with ties to Monster Beverage executives paid $19.2 million for the Thrifty Ice Cream brand and a healthcare business.
Hilrod Holdings, owned by Monster CEO Hilton Schlosberg and former Monster co-CEO Rodney Sacks, is purchasing Thrifty from Rite Aid, according to court documents filed June 26.
Rite Aid is selling the 85-year-old ice cream brand as part of the pharmacy chain's bankruptcy proceedings.
The transaction, which also includes KPH Healthcare Services, was approved by a federal bankruptcy judge on July 1.
It’s unknown what Hilrod plans to do with the storied brand. The ice cream was sold at retailers on the West Coast, including Rite Aid, which is closing many of its stores.
But Sacks and Schlosberg are no strangers to taking a down-on-its-luck company and giving it new life. The executives are considered the co-founders of Monster, which transformed from a soda and juice provider known as Hansen’s into an energy drink powerhouse.
The duo acquired Hansen after it filed for bankruptcy in 1988. It wasn’t until 2002 that the beverage maker released its popular Monster energy drink. In addition to its signature beverage, Monster has also expanded into craft beers, hard seltzers and flavored malt beverages.
Sacks stepped down from the company in June, leaving Schlosberg as Monster’s sole chief executive.
