Innovad to acquire Herbonis to strengthen natural specialty feed ingredients portfolio

IK Partners

Antwerp – Innovad®, a leading provider of animal nutrition and health solutions, is pleased to an- nounce that it is acquiring all the shares of Herbonis a Swiss-based company and its affiliates, including Wyreside in the UK. The acquisition aims to strengthen Innovad’s portfolio of natural speciality feed ingredients and align with its strategy of expanding into primary ingredients. Herbonis is recognised as a leader in a niche market and Panbonis, a product containing the plant-based source of the metabolic active form of Vitamin D, represents a unique and highly technical product with proven health benefits in poultry, swine and dairy. From its inception, Innovad has been formulating its products with plant- based ingredients and this acquisition will strengthen its position — adding capacity and knowledge to support the growth in its botanicals, nutraceuticals product portfolio.

Ben Letor, Innovad CEO: “We view Herbonis as a high quality and recognised leader operating in a niche market. Herbonis has an impressive track record, dedicated team, independent mindset, and outstanding know-how on botanicals. Herbonis Group highly scientific and plant-based proposition matches perfectly with Innovad’s strong strategic commitment to becoming the centre of excellence and knowledge in phytogenic and plant-based products. Natural solutions represent a megatrend in our industry to address sustainability objectives as well as consumer demand, provided that such plant-based alternatives are well-researched, well-documented, cost-effective and with the lowest carbon footprint.”

Raetus Boehlen, Herbonis CEO: “Having deep understanding of bioactive plants with proprietary analytical tools, Herbonis has succeeded in bringing to the market an effective 100% plant-based technology. Panbonis has demonstrated its performance and return through its strong customer base & partnership. Many publications and outstanding scientific dossier evidence its unique mode of action. Being able to include Panbonis as part of Innovad’s broader product portfolio will allow Herbonis to tap into new entry points with a broader customer base. It was essential for the owners of Herbonis to hand the company to a group that would continue to invest, support and recognise the value of Herbonis and its team.”

Massimo Neri, Innovad Director Europe: “We are highly motivated to combine Herbonis with Innovad. We believe that Innovad’s strong sales organisation, well-established European footprint and global commercial network perfectly fits with our strategy of delivering the Panbonis brand more directly to end users. With a presence in 75 countries, we expect Innovad’s platform to help accelerate brand awareness and market access for Herbonis’s products. Together, we can create a strong portfolio of innovative and sustainable solutions which will support animal health and welfare.”

Remko Hilhorst, Managing Partner at IK Partners and Advisor to the IK IX Fund: “In today’s volatile environment, it is exciting to be adding Herbonis to Innovad’s product portfolio as we continue to work with the management team to unleash its plan for further sustainable growth. We hope this will help establish the Innovad Group as a global primary producer and leader focused on botanicals, biomonitoring programmes and specialised in feed solutions.“

About Innovad

Innovad is a leading provider of animal nutrition and health solutions. The company offers a wide range of innovative and sustainable solutions to the livestock industry. Its patented, innovative Myco-marker® biomonitoring programme is truly a game changer in the industry. Innovad services integrators, producers, nutritionists, veterinarians, feed companies with a focused range of on farm water soluble and in-feed solutions. www.innovad-global.com

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About Herbonis

Herbonis is a company specialising in plant-based bioactive molecules, the leader in the niche vita- min D3 market with its product Panbonis, which offers a powerful natural source of the metabolic active form of Vitamin D. With a focus on sustainability and natural ingredients, Herbonis is commit- ted to providing innovative solutions to the animal feed industry. www.herbonis.com

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About IK Partners

IK Partners (“IK”) is a European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €14 billion of capital and invested in over 170 European companies. IK supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikpartners.com

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Herkules IV completes full exit of LMK Group AB

Hercules Capital
On 2 March 2023, Herkules IV divested it’s remaining shareholding in publicly listed LMK Group AB (“LMK”). LMK is a leading supplier of meal kits in the Nordic region and considers itself a leader in Scandinavian food tech. LMK operates in Sweden, Norway and Denmark under the brands Linas Matkasse, Godtlevert, Adams Matkasse and RetNemt.
On 2 March 2023, Linas Matkasse Holding II AS, owned by Herkules Private Equity Fund IV, sold 1,528,125 existing shares in LMK Group AB (“LMK”), corresponding to approximately 12.1 percent of the outstanding shares. The transaction was completed at a price of SEK 7.50 per share. Following this transaction, Herkules does not longer hold any shares in LMK.

Gert Wilhelm Munthe has represented Herkules as a member of the board of directors in LMK. Mr. Munthe will not stand for re-election to LMK’s board of directors.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Walker Kinman and his team in their successful turnaround of the company. Likewise, it has been rewarding to work with the professional Board who have been instrumental in the transformation. Herkules wishes LMK all the best for the future.”, says Mr. Munthe.

Pareto Securities acted as broker in connection with the transaction.

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Gimv participates in Paleo’s Series A of EUR 12m, a Belgian pioneer in the alternative protein market

GIMV

Topic: Investment

Paleo is a Belgian precision fermentation company that allows food manufacturers to offer a “real taste” experience, by providing key ingredients for environmentally friendly and cruelty-free meat and fish alternatives. To scale and grow, Paleo raised EUR 12m euro in a Series A financing round, led by DSM Venturing and Planet A Ventures and joined by Gimv, SFPIM Relaunch, Beyond Impact, and Siddhi Capital.

Paleo focuses on myoglobin, a protein that makes plant-based foods look and taste like meat or fish in terms of color, smell, taste, and aromatic experience and provides added nutritional value. The meat and fish proteins of Paleo are identical to animal proteins and GMO-free, providing an important competitive advantage.

Michaël Vlemmix, Principal in the Life Sciences-platform of Gimv, indicates: “We are very enthusiastic to be able to support a Belgian pioneer in the Foodtech space and provide our expertise and network to build a leading company. Being able to produce a GMO-free myoglobin through precision fermentation is highly exciting and offers the possibility to become one of the key catalysts to bring the plant-based food industry to the next level. I am looking forward to being able to grow this company together with management and our international syndicate of specialized investors in the space.”

Bram Vanparys, Managing Partner and Head of Life Sciences adds: “The mission of Gimv’s Life Sciences platform is to invest in companies developing products that are significantly benefiting society, which perfectly matches Paleo’s mission of combining people’s health with our planet’s health.”

For more information, please read the full press release from Paleo attached.

 

Read the full document

 

Gimv

Karel Oomsstraat 37, 2018 Antwerpen, Belgium

www.gimv.com

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AgTech leader Kind Technologies attracts growth capital from Avedon to further develop its innovative offering. Avedon additionally acquires Gimv’s majority stake in the group.

GIMV

Topic: Divestment

Kind Technologies, a specialist in horticulture automation, makes an important step in its further development and welcomes Avedon Capital Partners as new investor providing further growth capital while also acquiring Gimv’s stake. The founders continue in their current roles and reinvest in the new structure that will enable the group to continue its organic growth journey complemented with further buy-and-build initiatives in horticulture automation.

In 2018, Gimv invested via its Smart Industries platform in Kind Technologies alongside the founders Alex Kind and Richard Vialle who previously acquired two machine vision companies. At the time the company was catering for a broad a range of customers and applications. Accompanied by Gimv, strategic choices combined with focused acquisitions led to a further positioning of Kind Technologies as automation expert in the AgTech domain.

In 2021, Kind Technologies completed this process by selling its activities in pharmaceutical glass inspection systems. From that moment on, Kind Technologies was able to fully focus on innovative automation within the greenhouse horticulture, an area with strong growth drivers centered around a safer and sustainable food supply chain.

Kind Technologies is leveraging its knowhow in robotics, computer vision, data and AI to scale-up its SortiPack® product family. The SortiPack® is developed in Eindhoven under the Crux Agribotics umbrella. Through Westland-based Martin Stolze, the Group offers a complete portfolio for internal logistics solutions. Kind Technologies really is where Brainport meets Greenport.

Avedon will supply Kind Technologies with growth capital to follow through with the ambition to automate the complete process from crop harvest to packed product. The group will also continue to further strengthen its position through buy-and-build.

Nick Medaer, Partner within the Gimv Smart industries team says “We proudly look back at the journey together with Alex and Richard repositioning and building Kind Technologies to where it stands today, a leading innovator in the horticulture market. Alex and Richard have demonstrated that they are true entrepreneurs, believing in their dreams and going more than the extra mile to achieve them. We wish them and Avedon a fruitful partnership.

Alex Kind and Richard Vialle, the Founders add “We are grateful for the support and trust gained from Gimv during the past five years and the pivot and progress we have made jointly. Kind Technologies is now well positioned to address the increasing demand for automation within the greenhouse horticulture market. We look forward to addressing this momentum together with Avedon in the next phase of growth and to contribute to a more safe and efficient process for growing plants, fruits and vegetables, with our cutting edge technology.”

Emily Jeffries, Partner at Avedon shares: “We are honored and excited to support Alex, Richard and the strong teams at Crux and Martin Stolze on the promising growth journey ahead. Kind Technologies’ engineering talent, innovative culture and unmatched product and service portfolio give Kind a great position to accelerate their meaningful impact for growers worldwide.”

The transaction has no significant impact on the Net Asset Value of Gimv as of 30 September 2022. Over the entire holding period Gimv realizes a return in excess of the long-term portfolio return target. No further financial details will be disclosed.

 

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Gimv

Karel Oomsstraat 37, 2018 Antwerpen, Belgium

www.gimv.com

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Glass Pharms announces partners in UK cultivation facility: KUBO to build a state-of-the-art greenhouse

NPM Capital

Having secured up to £26.7M of funding from a FTSE-250 listed investment fund, Glass Pharms, the UK-based medical cannabis cultivation company, are delighted to announce a team of best-of-breed partners to complete their cultivation facility.

KUBO have been selected to deliver a state-of-the-art greenhouse for the Glass Pharms facility to ensure sophisticated control of climatic conditions and low energy consumption using its patented Ultra-Clima® system. The carbon negative facility will be powered entirely by renewable energy generated from food waste fed into an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant. Waste hot water from the AD plant will also be used for both heating and cooling.

The greenhouse will harvest and recycle rainwater and will represent a new benchmark for sustainable enclosed agriculture in the UK. Askam Civil Engineering, with specific sector expertise, will be providing the required civils and headhouse fitout for the facility. Glass Pharms have the first UK commercial licence granted by the Home Office to supply High-THC cannabis flower to lawful pharmaceutical companies, granted in 2021. Earlier this year it announced Richard Lewis, one of the UK’s most experienced glasshouse growers, as its managing director and will shortly announce its plant specific expert. “We will underpin a secure supply chain of affordable medical cannabis to UK patients without them having to compromise on freshness or quality, whilst at the same time making a real contribution towards the UK’s Net Zero targets,” said James Duckenfield, CEO of Glass Pharms.

UK Medical Cannabis Market 
Medical Cannabis was legalised in the UK in November 2018 with an amendment of The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, allowing the prescription of cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs) to UK patients.

KUBO has been active in the greenhouse industry for over 75 years. The company serves growers of fruits, vegetables, plants and flowers with high-tech greenhouses, including software support and services including training, data analysis, management and operational support. The company, with approximately 150 employees, has branches in Monster (the Netherlands), Montreal (Canada) and Shanghai (China). With a turnover of roughly €200 million and projects realised in 45 countries, including Canada, United States, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Oman, KUBO is a pioneer in its industry. The family owned company, founded in 1945, was awarded the number one position in the Hillenraad100: an annual ranking of the hundred most prominent businesses in the knowledge- and capital-intensive Dutch (greenhouse) horticultural industry cluster.

For more information on KUBO, contact NPM Capital, Stijn Jonker (jonker@npm-capital.com)

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Sun Capital Affiliate Completes Acquisition of Fresh Origins

Sun Capital

Market Leading Grower and Shipper of Microgreens and Edible Flowers for Foodservice and Retail Customers Across the United States

January 19, 2023 – Sun Capital Partners, Inc. (“Sun Capital”),a leading private investment firm focused on defensible businesses in growing markets with tangible performance improvement opportunities, today announced its affiliate has completed the acquisition of Fresh Origins (or the “Company”), a market leading grower and shipper of Microgreens and Edible Flowers for foodservice and retail customers across the United States. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1996, Fresh Origins pioneered the Microgreens category and is known for having the widest product variety, exceptional quality and consistency, and most rigorous food safety standards in the industry. The Company offers over 600 varieties of Microgreens, Petite® Greens, Edible Flowers, Shoots, Tiny Veggies™, and other Specialty items, serving over 350 foodservice distributors, restaurants, and retailers across the United States. Fresh Origins’ San Marcos, California headquarters is ideal for natural sunlight growing with average annual temperatures between 50 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit and over 250 days of sunshine. The Company’s operations have over 2.4 million square feet of growing capacity across more than 45 greenhouses on 123 total acres.

Microgreens and Edible Flowers are small, edible versions of vegetables, herbs, and flowers that are harvested 1-2 weeks into the growing cycle. Seed to ship is typically 10 to 14 days. Microgreens and Edible Flowers are utilized by chefs and consumers to elevate the visual appearance of prepared dishes while also enhancing the flavor profile and materially improving nutritional density.

“We are excited about the opportunity to work closely with Fresh Origins’ CEO, Norma St. Amant, to continue to grow and enhance the business,” said Marc Leder, Co-CEO of Sun Capital. “Norma and Company management have built a great organization and we look forward to supporting the Company with our operational resources and extensive food industry expertise to help Fresh Origins expand its leadership position in the growing Microgreens and Edible Flowers market.”

“We are pleased to welcome Sun Capital as our new partner to help us capitalize on growth opportunities in our rapidly expanding market,” said St. Amant. “Sun’s experience, industry expertise, and resources will allow us to enhance our brand and continue to fulfill our commitment to delivering high quality products, market leading innovation, and world class service to our valued customers.”

“Fresh Origins is a leading specialty produce business in a rapidly growing, highly fragmented industry with tangible growth and performance improvement opportunities,” said Jonathan Jackson, Principal at Sun Capital. “We are excited to partner with Norma and the Fresh Origins leadership team to accelerate growth through continued foodservice penetration and retail adoption, as well as capitalize on performance improvement opportunities including facility automation and systems implementation.”

Sun Capital has extensive experience partnering with industry leading food businesses through current and prior investments, including Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, Del Monte Canada, Elan Nutrition, Fearman’s Pork, Harry’s Fresh Foods, Fresh-Pak, Northland Cranberries, Sunrise Growers-Frozsun Foods, and Timothy’s Coffees of the World.

Fresh Origins was advised on the transaction by Houlihan Lokey (advisory), FORVIS (financial), and Sidley Austin (legal). Sun Capital was advised on the transaction by EY (financial), EY-Parthenon (commercial), and Kirkland & Ellis (legal).

About Fresh Origins

Fresh Origins, headquartered in San Marcos, CA, is a market leading grower and shipper of Microgreens and Edible Flowers for foodservice and retail customers across the United States. Founded in 1996, Fresh Origins pioneered the Microgreens category and is known for having the widest product variety, exceptional quality and consistency, and most rigorous food safety standards in the industry. The Company offers over 600 varieties of Microgreens, Petite® Greens, Edible Flowers, Shoots, Tiny Veggies™, and other Specialty items, serving over 350 foodservice distributors, restaurants, and retailers.

 

Media Contact
Matthew Conroy
Stanton
646-502-3563
mconroy@stantonprm.com

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Change in ownership: The largest shareholder of LTP Group, a company that has reshaped food logistics, is changing – the Company continues to target strong growth

LTP Group, which has achieved strong growth with Vaaka Partners over the past few years, is changing ownership. LTP Group has accomplished the goals set for the joint journey between its founder Matti Tuominen, and Vaaka Partners. A majority stake in LTP Group will be sold to Sponsor Capital. LTP management will continue as significant shareholders together with Sponsor also post transaction. The company will continue its rapid growth by carrying on with its mission of ensuring that the products from food producers of all sizes can make their way to dining tables across Finland. This is achieved by uniquely efficient logistics solutions that help conserve the environment and save money.

LTP Group’s joint journey with Vaaka Partners has been a success. Over a period of six years, the company has tripled its net sales and profitability. Net sales will exceed EUR 70 million this year. LTP Group, which currently employs over 450 people, targets high growth also going forward.

– “We have reshaped food logistics by consolidating many small flows of goods into a single large flow in a manner that no other operator has previously managed to execute successfully. It is a model that benefits everyone: producers, retailers, restaurants, consumers, and the environment. I am confident that this recipe will continue to create growth going forward, both for our customers and ourselves,” says Matti Tuominen, founder and CEO of LTP Group.

Giving small and medium-sized producers access to the national market

LTP Group’s primary competitive advantage lies in its unique solution for the picking and consolidation of foodstuff. Instead of each producer’s foodstuff taking a separate route to shops and restaurants, LTP Group collects products on a customer-specific basis and consolidates smaller flows of goods from multiple producers into boxes and truckloads based on the needs of shops and restaurants.

Another source of competitive advantage for LTP Group is its comprehensive nationwide distribution network, which covers shops, commercial kitchens and restaurants throughout Finland. LTP’s combination of these two competitive advantages create a unique and efficient food logistics solution.

– Our volume is large enough that our routes cover even the most remote towns. Our nationwide coverage and volumes enable us to serve small food producers along the way. This gives small and medium-sized food producers the opportunity to join a larger logistics chain and sell their products to the national market, which would, otherwise, be difficult or impossible for many of them,” Tuominen explains.

Shops and restaurants, in turn, gain access to a diverse range of products from various producers, consolidated in a single delivery according to their needs. This allows them to provide their respective customers with a wide product range that also includes specialty products. It is a solution that benefits all parties.

Efficient logistics reduces the burden on the environment

An efficient logistics solution that consolidates products from many players also reduces emissions. The same amount of goods can be transported more efficiently packed, using fewer vehicles and driving fewer kilometres.

– “With Vaaka Partners’ support, we have invested in automation and data-driven performance management. This has made us highly cost-conscious in terms of both environmental costs and financial costs,” Tuominen adds.

The change in the majority shareholder will not lead to any significant changes in the day-to-day business for LTP Group’s customers and partners. The company will continue to implement its proven recipe for growth, and the familiar day-to-day operations will remain unchanged.

The completion of the transaction is pending approval of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority.

For more information, please contact:

Matti Tuominen, CEO, LTP Group
tel. +358 40 503 5905, matti.tuominen@ltplogistics.fi

Tuomas Siponen, Partner, Vaaka Partners
tel. +358 50 571 3767, tuomas.siponen@vaakapartners.fi

Sami Heikkilä, Partner, Sponsor Capital
tel. +358 50 352 8905, sami.heikkila@sponsor.fi

LTP Group in brief:

LTP Group is a pioneer in food logistics that includes LTP Logistics Oy, which specialises in in-house logistics and customer-specific product picking; Lännen Teollisuuspalvelu, which specialises in Transbox washing and pallet services; and LTP Cargo Oy, which focuses on delivery operations. Together, the companies offer flexible and customisable logistics solutions that include picking, warehousing and transport services. LTP Group operates throughout Finland. The companies have over 450 employees and their combined net sales exceed EUR 70 million this year.

Vaaka Partners in brief:

Vaaka Partners is an ambitious private equity company that helps medium-sized Finnish companies to become business champions. Current Vaaka champions include Framery, AINS Group, Cloudpermit and Staria, among others. The company is responsible for over EUR 0.6 billion of private equity funds. Vaaka’s approach combines strategic and operational expertise with trust-based collaboration. The largest investors in Vaaka funds are Europe’s leading pension funds.
www.vaakapartners.fi

Sponsor Capital in brief:

Sponsor Capital is a Finnish private equity firm founded in 1997. The firm makes mainly majority investments in Finnish mid-sized companies that have an excellent management, stable market position and predictable cash flow. Sponsor Capital operates responsibly and long term as well as in a strongly goal-oriented mode and believing in management’s entrepreneurial spirit. Large Finnish institutions invest their capital through Sponsor Capital.
www.sponsor.fi

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Hormel foods announces minority investment in GarudaFood

CVC Capital Partners

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), a Fortune500 global branded food company, today announced it has acquired a minority stake in PT Garudafood Putra Putri Jaya Tbk (“Garudafood”), one of the largest food and beverage companies in Indonesia.

“This strategic investment enhances our partnership with Garudafood, which has been instrumental in helping us expand our business into Indonesia and Southeast Asia,” said Jim Snee, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer at Hormel Foods.”Garudafood is a market leader, with strong and reputable brands, local expertise and a best-in-class distribution network. We look forward to accelerating our presence in these high-growth geographies and the snacking and entertaining category as we further leverage the strengths and capabilities of both companies.”

Garudafood’s branded portfolio includes many leading snacking products, such as Garuda peanut snacks, Gery biscuits and confectionary products, and Chocolatos wafer sticks.

Quotes

This has been a successful partnership between the Soenjoto family, the strong management team at Garudafood and CVC.

Andy Purwohardono Partner, CVC

“We are very excited to continue expanding and strengthening our partnership with Hormel Foods to grow Garudafood’s business together in Indonesia,” said Hardianto Atmadja, president director of PT Garudafood Putra Putri Jaya Tbk. “Hormel Foods has more than 130 years of company history, so there are many things that we can learn from them. We also find that there are similarities in our company cultures and values, which are very important for a long-term partnership. There are some potential synergies and growth opportunities that we have identified, such as combining the strengths and expertise of Hormel Foods with our presence and local market knowledge.”

“This has been a successful partnership between the Soenjoto family, the strong management team at Garudafood and CVC,” said Andy Purwohardono, partner at CVC, which sold a significant portion of the shares acquired by Hormel Foods. “I would like to congratulate the leadership team for building resilience and growing the business profitably during the pandemic, as well as continuing its track record of launching new innovative products. Hormel Foods is the perfect partner for Garudafood, and I wish them a great success for the future.”

Hormel Foods purchased approximately 29% of the shares of Garudafood from CVC and other shareholders. The transaction closed during Indonesia Stock Exchange trading hours on Dec.15, 2022.

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KKR BRINGS TOGETHER BETTCHER INDUSTRIES AND FRONTMATEC TO BUILD A GLOBAL LEADER IN PROTEIN PROCESSING AUTOMATION

KKR

NEW YORK – November 10, 2022 – KKR, a leading global investment firm, and Bettcher Industries (“Bettcher”), a KKR portfolio company, today announced that Bettcher has completed the acquisition of Frontmatec, a global manufacturer of end-to-end automated solutions for pork and beef processing with world-class robotics capabilities. Frontmatec will join Bettcher, a leading manufacturer of protein processing equipment, to form a global market leader in protein processing automation.

The acquisition of Frontmatec represents an important step in building a diversified, scaled platform of food processing automation technologies with best-in-class capabilities to serve customers globally. Frontmatec’s leading robotics, vision systems, intelligent software and other capabilities as well as its global footprint and strong presence in Europe, are highly strategic and complementary to Bettcher’s leading focus on semi-automated protein processing tools and automated poultry processing systems.

Dan Daniel, Executive Advisor at KKR and Chairman of Bettcher, said, “We are excited to establish and build a platform that brings together two great companies who share a common vision of solving their customers’ problems in the protein processing automation space. From a strategic standpoint, the acquisition will allow us to invest in even greater innovation that helps our customers achieve enhanced productivity, automation and worker safety on a global scale. We are excited to continue building on the platform from here.”

As part of a KKR-owned platform, Bettcher and Frontmatec will continue to operate independently under their existing brands and leadership teams. The companies expect to collaborate on sharing best practices and driving future innovation and product development. They will also explore further strategic acquisition opportunities, including bringing additional businesses with leading brands into the platform.

Frontmatec CEO, Allan Kristensen, said, “Bringing the strengths of our companies together will enable us to deliver special innovation to the market. Culturally, our two companies are a great fit as we share the same passion for customer focus, developing high-quality solutions that will meet the accelerating global demand for higher yields in production as well as improved food quality and worker/people safety.”

The employee engagement program established by KKR will be extended to all Fontmatec employees. A key pillar of the program is allowing all employees to take part in the benefits of ownership by granting them the opportunity to participate in any equity return alongside KKR.

KKR’s investments in Bettcher and Frontmatec were made through its North America Fund XIII.

About Frontmatec
Headquartered in Kolding, Denmark, Frontmatec is a leader in end-to-end automated solutions for the red meat processing industry. Frontmatec serves customers worldwide through its global manufacturing and service footprint, including many of the world’s largest red meat processors. It is a full-line supplier of processing equipment, parts and services, instruments as well as controls software, which help solve key issues pertaining to yield, health and safety, animal welfare, food quality and more. For more information, please visit https://www.frontmatec.com/en.

About Bettcher Industries
Headquartered in Birmingham, Ohio, Bettcher is a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative equipment in the food processing and medical device industries. The Bettcher portfolio includes the following: Bettcher, a designer and manufacturer of handheld trimmers, tools, and cutting consumables for all protein applications; Cantrell-Gainco, a manufacturer of processing equipment and yield enhancement and yield tracking systems for various protein operations; ICB Greenline, an aftermarket replacement parts and services company focused on poultry processing; and, Exsurco Medical, a leading-edge medical device company that provides innovative products and services to transform surgical grafting, debridement, and recovery outcomes for patients with burn and trauma wounds. For more information, please visit https://www.bettcher.com/en

About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

 

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CVC Credit supports the acquisition of IRCA by Advent International

CVC Capital Partners

CVC Credit is pleased to announce that it has committed senior and acquisition facilities to support Advent International’s acquisition of IRCA, a leading Italian producer of specialty ingredients for artisanal pastries, cakes and gelato.

For over 100 years, IRCA has been supplying a broad portfolio of products to patisseries, gelato parlours, hotels, restaurants, and confectionery manufacturers. IRCA occupies a niche space in the industry as a result of its “one-stop-shop” strategy, providing simple, complete, and expert solutions for the preparation of products, which would otherwise be far more costly, time-consuming, and complex to produce. Headquartered in Italy, IRCA supports artisan chefs in over 100 countries and employs more than 1,000 people across seven production plants and four innovation and demonstration kitchens in Europe, North America and Asia.

Quotes

IRCA’s track-record demonstrates the group’s ability at identifying and executing on opportunities in the sector, and with Advent’s guidance we expect the business to continue on its impressive growth trajectory.

John EmpsonPartner and Co-Head of Private Credit at CVC Credit

Alessio Di Vito, Director at CVC Credit said: “IRCA is the undisputed leading player in speciality ingredients in Italy. Its market position, achieved through investments in product innovation and geographic expansion, have enabled it to grow through market cycles, furthermore it is expected to continue to benefit from attractive market tailwinds due to growing demand of semi-finished ingredients solutions.”

John Empson, Partner and Co-Head of Private Credit at CVC Credit added: “IRCA’s track-record demonstrates the group’s ability at identifying and executing on opportunities in the sector, and with Advent’s guidance we expect the business to continue on its impressive growth trajectory. We look forward to utilising the expertise and resources of our collective network to support this further development over the coming years.”

Francesco Casiraghi, Managing Director at Advent International, commented: “We have identified IRCA as a structural winner in a sector with secular growth tailwinds. IRCA’s long-term growth track record comes from a consistent focus on understanding customer needs, creative innovation, and Italian excellence in high-quality food ingredients. We believe IRCA is perfectly placed for further expansion, reaching a growing number of chefs globally with increasingly innovative solutions. We are very excited to support the management team in the next phase of IRCA’s journey.”

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