February 11/Lincoln, RI/Autocrat Press Release -- Autocrat LLC, a family-operated business that roasts coffee and manufactures coffee extracts, announced it has entered into a partnership with an investment group led by Trent Capital Partners and Argosy Private Equity.

Autocrat offers regular and organic coffee extracts that flavor popular food and beverage products such as ice cream, iced cappuccino drinks, ready-to-drink beverages, snack bars, and alcohol-based products, as well as coffee on demand that provides consistently fresh and delicious coffee any time of the day with virtually no waste. Autocrat also supplies national and local food service operators with roasted coffee and produces coffee syrup used to make the state drink of Rhode Island, coffee milk.

"We look forward to working with Trent Capital Partners," agreed Richard M. Field Jr. and Cynthia Field Wall, co-owners of Autocrat.  "This partnership is a major development in the continued growth of our company."

"We are excited to partner with the Autocrat team and to support the company’s continued expansion.  We view this investment as an excellent opportunity to build significant long term value for the company’s customers as well as its shareholders," said Raymond J. Desrocher Jr., partner of Trent Capital Partners.

From the February 21, 2011, Prepared Foods E-dition