Tag Archives: Food

SI Foods agrees partnership with CVC Capital Partners

CVC Capital Partners

The current SI Foods owners will remain active shareholders and will continue to manage Dodoni, its subsidiaries and its operations

SI Foods Ltd, the majority shareholder of Dodoni SA (“Dodoni”) and CVC Capital Partners VII (“CVC Fund VII”) have agreed to the joint ownership of SI Foods Holding Ltd (“SIF”) whereby CVC Fund VII will hold a majority interest.

The current SI Foods owners will remain active shareholders and will continue to manage Dodoni, its subsidiaries and its operations. The partnership will leverage SIF, and Dodoni, as a platform to grow the presence in particular in the specialty cheese and related sectors through investments and possibly acquisitions in Greece and abroad.

In 2012, Dodoni, the leading Greek dairy and best-selling Greek Feta PDO brand, was privatised by the Greek State and sold to SI Foods Ltd, a group of private investors, including the partners of Lime Capital Partners Ltd. Since its privatisation, the subsequent owners have significantly restructured Dodoni investing in its production facilities, organisation and sales and marketing. As a result, Dodoni’s revenues have almost doubled with about 50% being generated through exports. Since 2012, Dodoni has provided strong support for the primary economy, increasing the number of permanent employees from 270 to over 600 in Greece and having paid more than €0.5 billion to its farmers.

CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”) is a leading private equity and investment advisory firm with a network of 23 offices throughout Europe, Asia and the US. Funds managed or advised by CVC (“CVC Funds”) are invested in over 90 companies worldwide, employing more than 450,000 people.

CVC Funds are also one of the most active investors in Greece with a dedicated team in Athens which has invested or committed more than €1 billion of equity since 2017, including in Hellenic Healthcare Group, e-Travel, Skroutz, D-Marin and Vivartia, as well as recently agreeing the acquisition of Ethniki Insurance.

Tom Seepers, CEO of Dodoni stated: “We are proud to enter into this exciting partnership with CVC enabling us to take the next step in our long-term strategy to transform Dodoni. The current shareholders and management of Dodoni remain committed to their long-term strategy of growing the company and providing stability and security to its suppliers and employees. With CVC we have secured a strong partner with a focus on sustainable value creation, who shares our focus on ESG  and can enable us to accelerate the future development of Dodoni.”

SI Foods is being advised by KBVL, Ionian Capital and Eveda Capital.

Categories: News

Tags:

Blue Horizon Corporation raises its stake in New Roots, a Swiss alternative cheese producer

Blue Horizon

By Blue Horizon

Zurich, 7 September 2020 – Blue Horizon Corporation, a pure play investment company with focus on investments in innovative companies in the Food 4.0 sector,  today announced that it has raised its equity stake in New Roots, a Swiss based producer of  alternative cheese based on cashew milk in a capital increase completed in August 2020.

Founded in 2015 and based in Thun, Switzerland, New Roots is an innovative vegan cheese start-up. The company’s vegan cheese alternative is made from homemade organic cashew milk and the same artisanal techniques of fermentation and ripening as traditional cheese. It offers a selection of tasty kinds of cheese and joghurts,  including cream cheese, ricotta, camembert and fresh cheese with different herbs and spices, enabling consumers to transition to a plant-based diet. The two largest Swiss retailers, Coop and Migros, both added products of New Roots to their product range.

The cashew nuts are supplied by a partner farm in Vietnam, which was selected based on high quality and human rights standards. Although the cashew nuts are imported from Vietnam, the company’s ecological footprint is smaller than it would be with traditional cheese. From one kilo of nuts 2 kilos of cheese can be produced. With cow milk, in contrast, it takes up to 12 liters for one kilo of cheese. Started in the kitchen of Co-Founder Freddy Hunziker, who sold his first product to the local Eco store around the corner, the start-up quickly developed into a 20 person enterprise. In 2019, New Roots won the Swiss Economic Award in the category Production / Trade & Industry. The investment of Blue Horizon in the course of a capital increase is a major step in the history of the young company.

Freddy Hunziker, Co-Founder & CEO of New Roots said: “We are very excited to have Blue Horizon as a partner which enables us to drive forward new initiatives, increase our product range and capabilities and enhance our brand and network. We share a common vision and look forward to further working together on offering delicious, ethical and sustainable alternatives to traditional cheese made from animal milk.”

Björn Witte, CEO of Blue Horizon, said: “New Roots already has a unique growth story and the company is very well positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for alternative dairy. In particular, the products of New Roots appeal to the taste of consumers. We are happy to bring our experience and operational capabilities into partnership with the young and talented team in order to shape the future of plant based cheese in Switzerland and globally.”

About Blue Horizon Corporation
Blue Horizon Corporation has shaped the growth of the market for alternative proteins since the beginning and accelerates it through targeted investments as a pure play industry pioneer.,. The company aims to sustainably transform the global food industry through investments into companies who are replacing animal proteins with healthy, alternative protein sources across the global supply chain. Blue Horizon was founded in 2016 and is based in Zurich and Los Angeles. The company launched its first venture fund in 2018. Since then, it has completed over 50 seed and venture capital investments in the alternative protein food tech sector and raised more than CHF 350 million. Its business model offers a unique market access from Seed to Consolidation via funds and direct investment platforms throughout all stages of asset lifecycles. More on www.bluehorizon.com

Media contact
Martin Meier-Pfister, IRF
Phone +41 43 244 81 40
bluehorizon@irf-reputation.ch

Categories: News

Tags:

AURELIUS to sell Swiss feed producer Granovit in management buy-out

Aurelius Capital

  • The buyer led by CEO Andreas Fischer will continue on the course taken in the operational restructuring
  • Granovit has been positioned as an independent company after the carve-out from the Cargill Group

Munich, April 1, 2019 –AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN: DE000A0JK2A8) will sell its subsidiary Granovit, with its headquarters in Lucens (Switzerland), to the current management team led by CEO Andreas Fischer in the form of a management buy-out. The company produces premix and compound feed for poultry, swine, beef cattle and dairy cattle for the Swiss market at three production facilities. The product portfolio also includes specialty feed for pets, horses and zoo animals, as well as medicated feed. The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the transaction.

AURELIUS had acquired the company from Cargill in 2017. The carve-out from the Cargill Group was successfully completed in only three months. Among other things, an independent finance department and IT infrastructure were developed and the company was positioned in the market under the new name Granovit in 2018. The company’s structures, processes and costs were optimized and adapted to the requirements of a medium-sized Swiss enterprise. In addition, the portfolio was drastically streamlined with a focus on quality, while a new number of products were introduced to the market, which have established Granovit as a brand in the Swiss market.

Categories: News

Tags:

Piper invests in fast growing healthy recipe box brand Mindful Chef

Piper

Piper have invested £6m into Mindful Chef, the UK’s favourite healthy recipe box brand.

Mindful Chef was set up by childhood school friends Rob Grieg-Gran, Giles Humphries and Myles Hopper with a mission to make healthy eating easy. Since its launch in 2015 it has experienced rapid growth – including a 178% rise in sales in the past year – delivering nearly two million meals to UK consumers. Based in Wandsworth, London, the brand has annualised sales of £10m and employs 27 people.

With its focus on making healthy eating easy, all Mindful Chef’s meals are healthy and nutritionally balanced, are gluten and dairy free, containing no refined carbs or sugars. All the ingredients are fresh, high quality and sustainably sourced from local farmers where possible. Each week 16 different recipes are available for customers to select from. For the growing number of UK consumers continuing to seek out a healthier lifestyle, Mindful Chef helps customers discover and cook quick and easy nutritious, tasty recipes in a way that is convenient, saves them time and reduces food wastage by providing only the food you need to eat and reducing trips to the supermarket.

For many customers, Mindful Chef has ignited or rekindled the enjoyment of cooking and a delight in discovering new otherwise difficult to source ingredients and flavours. Customers are also supporting Mindful Chef’s charity One Feeds 2, through their purchases. For every meal purchased, Mindful Chef donates a meal to a child in poverty – to date the company has provided more than 770,000 meals for children in living in poverty.

Piper’s £6m investment will enable the business to continue to grow and expand its customer base in the UK, helping it capitalise on the rapid growth of the recipe box market which is forecast to double over the next 10 years. It is the fifth investment from our sixth £125m fund.

Tim Lee, previously Head of Food and Online Strategy at Marks & Spencer, joined the business earlier in 2018 as CEO.

Rory Gibbs, Piper’s Investment Director who led the deal, said: ‘Mindful Chef is well placed to continue accelerating the growth of the recipe box market with its highly differentiated health focused positioning. We are backing a young, dynamic team who are passionate about making healthy eating easier for their customers. We are excited to be joining them and helping them to realise their ambitions.’

For more information, please contact:
Rory Gibbs, Investment Director
Email: rory@piper.co.uk
Phone +44 (0)207 727 3842

Categories: News

Tags:

Gimv enters into exclusivity with Cerea Capital II to become majority shareholder of La Comtoise alongside the company’s Chairman and founder

GIMV

 

Gimv will acquire a majority interest in La Comtoise, alongside Michel Vanhove and the management team, to support the company in its growth and international expansion

Antwerp (BE) / Louhans and Paris (FR), 30 October 2018, 7:30am – Created in 1994 in Louhans (Saône-et-Loire) by Michel Vanhove, La Comtoise develops and supplies tailor-made cheese solutions to industrial food processing groups, which are integrated into prepared foods such as breaded escalopes (cordons bleus), grilled ham and cheese sandwiches (croque-monsieur), sandwiches and hamburgers. Backed by Cerea Capital II and Unigrains since 2015, La Comtoise has achieved impressive growth to reach a turnover of EUR 33 million with a headcount of 37 people.

La Comtoise is positioned in the buoyant and resilient snacking and processed food segments and has been on a steady growth path for a number of years. With top-quality R&D capabilities and efficient production facilities, it develops tailored products for existing and prospective customers capable of adapting to the most demanding requirements in terms of organoleptic properties, while meeting the highest standards of production processes.

Gimv’s investment comes at a time when the company is doubling its production capacities to 24,000 tonnes a year. La Comtoise is keen to step up its growth with the development of new solutions, notably in cheese sauces. It will thus address a new clientele, particularly out-of-home catering. Drawing on the French expertise in cheese production, which is recognised all over the world, La Comtoise intends to strengthen its international presence. It will benefit from the support of Gimv, which has an extensive business network across Benelux and DACH countries.

Michel Vanhove, Chairman of La Comtoise: “In an effort to bolster our development and strengthen our leading position, we are expanding our production capacity to meet strong demand and accelerate in new segments and export markets. Gimv appears to us as the right partner to achieve this, given the scale of its European network and its insight into the strategic challenges we face in our industry.”

Anne Caron, Gimv Partner and Guillaume Bardy, Principal: “We are very enthusiastic to work with Michel Vanhove and his teams in order to take La Comtoise to the next level. This deal fits perfectly into the investment philosophy of our Connected Consumer platform, which has a good knowledge of the agri-food sector, having invested in this area across France and Europe. Gimv will make all its resources available to actively support La Comtoise in its development in new market segments as well as internationally.”

Antoine Peyronnet, Managing Director of Céréa Capital: “We are very proud to have accompanied Michel Vanhove and his team since 2015. The company’s steady growth is fuelled by its capacity to innovate and expand internationally.  Now that it has taken on a new dimension, La Comtoise is in an ideal position to pursue its development with the support of Gimv.”

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

Categories: News

Tags:

ARDIAN reaffirms its support to Mademoiselle Desserts and co-arranges A €50M subordinated financing to finance its acquisition by IK Investment Partners

Ardian

Paris, July 26th 2018 – Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, today announces that it has co-arranged a €50m subordinated financing to support the acquisition of Mademoiselle Desserts by IK Investment Partners. The financing package includes a committed acquisition line to support the Group’s growth strategy.

Mademoiselle Desserts is one of the leading producers of frozen baked goods in Europe. Founded in 1984, the Group offers a wide range of high-quality and innovative products distributed to some of the largest organizations in the retail and foodservice market. Mademoiselle Desserts, which currently employs 1,300 people across nine production facilities in France, the UK and the Netherlands, holds a leading position in France and the UK due to a diversified range of quality pastries.

The Group is forecast to reach approximately €225m in sales in 2018.

Guillaume Chinardet, Head of Ardian Private Debt France and Managing Director, said: “We look forward to continue supporting the Group in this new chapter of its growth journey alongside IK Investment Partners, a valuable partner with strong expertise in the European food market. We are convinced that Mademoiselle Desserts will achieve further growth via strategic acquisitions to broaden the product portfolio and penetrate new markets.”

Gregory Pernot, Director in Ardian’s Private Debt team, added: “We’ve been working alongside Mademoiselle Desserts since November 2013, when we arranged a unitranche financing for the Group. Ever since, we have seen the strong development of Mademoiselle Desserts under the leadership of Didier Boudy and the management team, and have actively supported its strategic acquisitions of several entities in the UK and the Netherlands. This second financing with Mademoiselle Desserts emphasizes our investment approach based on long-term partnerships.“

Didier Boudy, CEO of Mademoiselle Desserts, added: “Since 2013, Ardian Private Debt has been a strategic partner for Mademoiselle Desserts’ development. Their agility and reactivity combined with their very good understanding of our industry has been totally key to complete strategic acquisitions. It was then natural to secure their participation to our next roll with IK Investment Partners.”

“We are impressed by the Group’s development in the UK, France and the Netherlands. Together with the management team, we will strive to broaden the product portfolio via targeted acquisition opportunities. Ardian has been a long-term partner of the Company, and we are delighted to see them reaffirm their support. ” said Rémi Buttiaux, Partner at IK Investment Partners and advisor to the IK VIII Fund.

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$71bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base.
Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world.

Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 500 employees working from fourteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore and Tokyo). It manages funds on behalf of around 700 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Funds of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

Ardian on Twitter @Ardian

www.ardian.com

ABOUT MADEMOISELLE DESSERTS

Mademoiselle Desserts, formerly known as Européenne des Desserts, is the French leader and one of the leading European players in the frozen bakery industry. Operating through 9 manufacturing sites in France, the UK and the Netherlands, Mademoiselle Desserts offers a large range of premium frozen industrial pastry products to its retail and foodservice customers. The Group employs a total of 1,300 people.
www.mademoiselle-desserts.com

ABOUT IK INVESTMENT PARTNERS

IK Investment Partners is a Pan-European private equity firm having raised more than €9.5 billion of capital. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €9.5 billion of capital and invested in over 115 European companies, its current portfolio being composed of 28 companies. IK mainly invests in mid-sized companies that have strong market positions and strong improvement potential.
www.ikinvest.com

LIST OF PARTIES INVOLVED

Ardian Private Debt: Guillaume Chinardet, Gregory Pernot, Gabrielle Philip
IK Investment Partners: Rémi Buttiaux, Dan Soudry, Diki Korniloff, Thibaut Richard, Guillaume Veber
Financing Legal Advisor (Ardian): De Pardieu Brocas Maffei – Yannick Le Gall, Eryk Nowakowski, Sonia Bouaffassa

PRESS CONTACTS

ARDIAN
Headland
Carl Leijonhufvud
cleijonhufvud@headlandconsultancy.com
Tel: +44 020 3805 4827

Categories: News

Tags:

VALEDO invests in PINCHO NATION

Valedo

Valedo Partners III AB (“Valedo”) has invested in the restaurant chain Pincho Nation AB (”Pinchos”) alongside its founders, key employees and board of directors. With Valedo as a new majority owner, Pinchos will benefit from increased resources in the form of competence and capital to realize and accelerate the Company’s long-term growth and development plan.

Pinchos is a unique app-based restaurant concept, offering a broad menu of appetizers drawing inspiration from all over the world, including dishes such as Spanish quesadillas, Asian dumplings, Hungarian stake, French crème brûlée, and beverages such as mojitos, sangria, beer, and playful drinks in all the colors of the rainbow. The Company, founded in 2012 by Magnus Larsson, Jessica Ekelöf Larsson, Fredrik Mattsson and Johannes Räfsby, has grown significantly during the last years with approximately 45 units established in Sweden and Norway as of today. In 2017 alone, 17 new units were added to the chain and the Company plans to open more than 20 new units during 2018.

“Pinchos has during the last few years had a fantastic growth and development, and it is obvious that consumers really appreciate our unique concept and atmosphere. As a founder and leader of the business, I am very enthusiastic about accelerating the development further with the support of Valedo as a partner, alongside our motivated and competent employees. Valedo will contribute with important competence and financial resources to enable our next step in the strategic journey of Pinchos.” says Magnus Larsson, CEO of Pinchos.

The terms and conditions of the transaction are not disclosed.

For further information regarding Pinchos, please contact:

Magnus Larsson, CEO
magnus.larsson@pinchos.se

About Valedo:
Valedo is an independent Swedish investment group that invests in high-quality small and mid-cap companies in the Nordic region. Valedo focuses on companies with clear growth and development potential where Valedo can actively contribute to and accelerate the companies’ development. Being an active owner and contributor of both capital and industrial experience, Valedo helps to ensure that its companies can achieve their full potential. Valedo has completed 24 platform investments and more than 100 add-on acquisitions. Valedo’s businesses have a combined revenue of SEK ~4 500 million with ~3 300 employees in more than 20 countries. Valedo’s exited businesses have on average grown by ~250% during Valedo’s ownership.

www.valedopartners.com

Categories: News

Tags:

Jacobs Douwe Egberts makes a pre – conditional offer for all of Super Group Ltd for S$1.30 per share in cash , backed by irrevocable commitments representing 60 % of shares issued

Singapore –Nov 3,2016 –
Super Group Ltd (SGX : S10.SI) (“SuperGroup”) and Sapphire Investments BV (“Sapphire”), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Jacobs Douwe Egberts BV (“JDE”),today announced that Sapphire has made a pre-conditional offer to acquire all the issued shares of SuperGroup,supported by irrevocable commitments received from
shareholders representing 60% of SuperGroup’s issued shares to tender their shares in the offer.This includes an
irrevocable commitment from YHS Investment,holding 11.69% of Super Group’s issued shares,whose undertakingto accept is subject to approval of its shareholders.

The offer will be at a price of S$1.30 per share or a total aggregate consideration of approximately
S$1.45 billion. The offer price represents a premium of:
approximately 34.0% over the last traded price per share as quoted on the Singapore Exchange on October 31
,2016, the date on which the shares were last traded on the Singapore Exchange prior to the trading halt on the shares which was called on October 31,2016;

and

approximately 62.6% over the volume weighted average share price of Super Group for the three month period ending
October 4, 2016, the last trading day of the shares prior to the date on which a query regarding trading activity was received on October 5, 2016 by Super Group from the Singapore Exchange.

The commencement of the offer is subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals.
The offer will be conditional upon Sapphire receiving more than 50%of Super Group’s issued shares being tendered
in acceptance of the offer. If Sapphire acquires 90% of the issued shares pursuant to the offer,
Sapphire intends to exercise its right to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares and privatise Super Group.

About Super Group.
Founded in 1987, the Company is a leading pan-Asian integrated instant food and beverage brand owner and manufacturer. Under its core Branded Consumer segment, the Company and its subsidiaries manufacture and distribute branded consumer products, primarily instant coffee and tea,
instant tea mixes and instant cereals, with a portfolio of over 160 instant beverage
and food products distributed in over 65 countries under multiple iconic brands such as
Super, Essenso, OWL and Nutremill. Under its complementary Food Ingredients segment, the
Company is one of the few companies in the world with raw material selection and manufacturing
capabilities in non-dairy creamer, instant soluble coffee powder and cereal flakes.
Super Group currently operates 15 state -of-the- art manufacturing facilities located in China, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Categories: News

Tags: