Paris, 25 April 2018 – Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, today announces the sale of its minority holding in Piz’Wich, a specialist manufacturer of on-the-go frozen snack products, to frostkrone, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of frozen convenience food and snack products.

Ardian Growth is a key partner for profitable growth companies generating sales of between 10 and 100 million euros annually. This success is reflected in the team’s recent fundraise of 230 million euros for its second generation Growth fund.

Ardian Growth purchased a stake in Piz’Wich in December 2016 in order to support the group’s organic growth and accelerate its international expansion, particularly through a global industry partnership strategy. These objectives were quickly achieved, thanks to further product range development and the establishment of strategy agreements with industrial groups. In fact, negotiations initially focused on forming an industry partnership in Germany have eventually led to the frostkrone acquisition. frostkrone, which now holds all shares in Piz’Wich, was itself an Ardian Expansion investment until February 2017, when its shares were sold to its current backer, Emeram Capital Partners.

Piz’Wich was founded in 2001 and has enjoyed continued growth in an evolving and expanding market. Under the direction of Stéphane Delahaye, Piz’Wich rapidly adapted its business model to focus on on-the-go frozen snack products, a niche, high-growth market. As part of this pivot, it created the “Pizza Pocket”, a successful and innovative product. With a strong focus on quality and traceability of ingredients, Piz’Wich has responded to the ever-increasing demand for these types of products, and the evolving range of consumer habits while at the same time complying with stringent certification and control requirements.

Stéphane Delahaye, CEO of Piz’Wich, said: “We have seen an intense and productive period since the beginning of our partnership with Ardian, through its investment in Piz’Wich. We have continued to develop our product range, and with the support of Ardian’s extensive network, have identified a number of industry partners worldwide as well as other external expansion targets. We would like to extend our thanks to the Ardian Growth team for their support. We now look forward to benefiting from the synergies with frostkrone and to pursuing further development in the future.”

Frédéric Quéru, Director at Ardian Growth, added: “Piz’Wich has experienced rapid development over the 16 months since our investment. Through our initial investment, we, alongside Stéphane Delahaye, were able to successfully enable Piz’Wich to roll out its strategy. The company generated strong interest from a number of players, but frostkrone, a recognized industry leader, made it clear early on they were willing to take Piz’Wich to the next level.”

Alexis Saada, Managing Director at Ardian Growth, added: “This operation, which is a testament to the high quality of products offered by Piz’Wich, places the company in an optimum position to continue its development. It also reflects our team’s comprehensive approach to high-growth companies and our partnership ethos with entrepreneurs looking for a new stage of development.”

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$67bn managed or advised in Europe, North America 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 490 employees working from thirteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), North America (New York, San Francisco) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo). It manages funds on behalf of c.700 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

Follow Ardian on Twitter @Ardian

www.ardian.com

ABOUT PIZ’WICH

Created in 2001 and taken over by Stéphane Delahaye in 2011, Piz’Wich is a manufacturer of white-label frozen snack products targeting supermarkets and hypermarkets, airline caterers and food service providers.
The company, located in Bulgnéville near Nancy and managed by Stéphane Delahaye, established strategic partnerships with largely international players.

ABOUT FROSTKRONE

frostkrone, and its subsidiary Bornholter, specializes in the development and production of frozen finger food and snack products. Since its foundation in 1997, the company has become an innovative trendsetter in the field of frozen finger food. frostkrone boasts a highly diverse portfolio of products made with cheese, fish, vegetables and meat, selling its products in grocery stores and in the food service sector.

www.frostkrone.de

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Piz’Wich: Stéphane Delahaye
Ardian: Frédéric Quéru, Alexis Saada

• Legal advisor: McDermott, Will & Emery (Diana Hund, Louis Leroy)
• Tax advisor:Arsene Taxand (Franck Chaminade, Charles Dalarun)
• M&A advisor: Invest Corporate Finance (Marc O’Neill, Maxime Bazin)

frostkrone: Frédéric Dervieux
Emeram Capital Partners: Matthias Obermeyr, Kaili Shen

• Legal
  • GLNS: Ludger Schult and Andreas Scheidle
  • Aramis: Raphaël Mellerio and Aliénor Harel
• Financial, tax and structure
  • PWC financial: Richard Siedek, Philippe Chavane and Olivier Lorang
  • PWC tax: Fabien Radisic
• Structure
  • Flick Gocke Schaumburg: Christian Pitzal and Martin Oltmanns
• Acquisition financing
  • Shearman & Sterling: Winfried Carli

PRESS CONTACTS

ARDIAN

Headland
CARL LEIJONHUFVUD

cleijonhufvud@headlandconsultancy.com
Tel: +44 020 3805 4827

International private equity firm, Cinven, today announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire Partner in Pet Food (‘PPF’), a leading European pet food manufacturer, for an undisclosed amount.

Headquartered in Hungary, PPF is a market-leading pet food manufacturer with nine manufacturing operations across Europe. PPF supplies pet food to more than 250 customers in Europe, including traditional retailers, discounters, speciality pet retailers and online specialists. Its product range covers the main categories of dog and cat food including wet and dry food including single serve products. Established in 1999, the company employs more than 1,400 people and produces more than 450,000 tons of pet food per annum, distributed across 38 countries in Europe.

Cinven’s Consumer team identified PPF as an attractive investment opportunity given:

• Pet food represents a large and resilient market, with growth underpinned by long-term trends such as the rise in pet ownership; owners buying specialist pet food; and a shift towards more premium products. The €23 billion European pet food market is forecast to continue growing at a sustained pace over the coming years;
• PPF is a market-leading player with well-invested, pan-European production capabilities and a strong reputation for quality, reliability and innovation;
• Attractive growth opportunities exist for PPF across its core markets throughout Europe, working together with its retail partners to deliver innovative and quality products across offline and online channels;
• PPF has a proven track record of strong financial performance and cash-flow generation through the economic cycle, and dynamic revenue growth over the past five years;
• A fragmented European market for pet food manufacturers represents an opportunity for PPF to participate in consolidation and capitalise on Cinven’s strong buy and build expertise, building on PPF’s existing operations; and
• The business is managed by an exceptional team, led by Chairman and CEO Attila Balogh, together with his team, since 2009.

Maxim Crewe, Partner at Cinven, commented:

“PPF represents an opportunity to acquire one of the leading pet food manufacturers in Europe, which has demonstrated sustained growth through the cycle under its management team, led by Attila Balogh. The Cinven Consumer team has been reviewing the fast-growing pet care market for some time and we believe that PPF is well placed to continue supporting its retail partners in capitalising on this growth across both traditional retail channels as well as online.”

Matteo Corà, Senior Principal at Cinven, added:

“The European pet food market is one of the most attractive spaces in the wider consumer sector. Strong demand for pet food products – and premium products in particular – is being driven by the increased ‘humanisation’ of pets; owners want to give their pets healthier foods in a more convenient way. PPF is a highly successful business with further opportunities for growth organically, leveraging its production capabilities and track record for product innovation, and through acquisition.”

Chairman and CEO of PPF, Attila Balogh, said:

“Our mission at PPF is to provide a full range of high quality pet food products and to be the number one pet food producer in Europe. We have a great business model and are very proud of our customer relationships, the quality of our products, our European production network and innovation track record. We now have an opportunity to grow the business further and are delighted to partner with the team at Cinven to drive further organic growth, as well as focus on buy and build opportunities, in order to offer new products and reach a wider range of customers.”

Within the Consumer sector, Cinven recently acquired Planasa, a leading plant variety and nursery operators for berries worldwide to capitalise on the growth in the health and wellness consumer segment.

In addition to PPF and Planasa, Cinven’s other current Consumer sector investments are:

• Allegro, a leading online marketplace in Poland (January 2017); and
• Kurt Geiger, a retailer of footwear and accessories in Europe (February 2016).

Completion of the acquisition of PPF is subject to Workers Council and customary regulatory approvals.

FSN Capital V (“FSN Capital”) has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Mørenot (“Mørenot”, the “Company”), a world leading supplier of equipment and services to the world’s fishery- and aquaculture industries.

Current owners are 3rd and 4th generation descendants of the founders, and will re-invest alongside FSN Capital and continue to own a material stake in the Company.

The Company has shown strong performance in recent years and established a global platform for continued expansion.  Mørenot holds a reputation for leading quality and servicing capabilities based on innovation and local presence. The company is driving innovation within the industry, with several recent and ongoing successful projects. Global population growth and increased living standards are driving the demand for protein, and fish is a more efficient source of protein compared to e.g. chicken, pork and beef, with additional health benefits from high content of fatty acids such as Omega 3. As a global leader in this industry, Mørenot contributes to feeding the world in a healthy and sustainable manner.

With roots back to 1913, Mørenot is a Norway based, global leader in the fast-growing market for equipment and services to the fishery and aquaculture industries. The company has a strong Norwegian heritage founded on quality products, excellent service and close relationships with its customers. In 2017, Mørenot reported sales of approximately NOK 870m and the Company has generated an organic sales CAGR of 8% between 2009 and 2017. In partnership with FSN Capital, the founder families will take part in the future journey and aspire to reinforce Mørenot’s strong market position and further consolidate the market both in Norway and internationally.

“FSN Capital is excited about the opportunity to play a leading part in providing the world’s growing population with a healthy source of protein in an environmentally sustainable manner. We are eager to partner with the founding family in realizing the Company’s next growth journey”, says Ulrik Smith, Partner at FSN Capital Partners AS, acting as investment adviser to FSN Capital.

“The family and the board are very proud of what the management team has achieved with the Company. The family is excited to have entered into a partnership with FSN, which will support the Company in its next phase of growth. We are optimistic about the future and look forward to the partnership.” says Sveinung Flem, Chairman of the Board of Mørenot.

The transaction is subject to approval from the competition authorities.

FSN Capital was advised by Advokatfirmaet Haavind, PwC, Bain & Company, Rambøll, White & Case, JLT, and Implement Consulting Group.

For more information please contact:

Ulrik Smith, Partner
us@fsncapital.com /+47 974 15 569

Morten Welo, COO & Investor Relations
mw@fsncapital.com / +47 924 48 555

Alliance Etiquettes announces that Groupe Etienne, specialised in wine bottle labels, has merged with Alliance Etiquettes. This is the sixth build -up for the Alliance Etiquettes “buy-and-build” platform created in 2015.

Following the operation, Alliance Etiquettes will become the market leader in France of premium wine bottle labels, with turnover of €50 million euros and more than 300 employees.

Founded in Doué-la-Fontaine, France, in 1961 by the Etienne family, Etienne has become one of the leading French producers of adhesive and traditional labels for the wine-producing industry. Over the years the group has expanded to include six companies. It was acquired in 2007 via an MBI led by Eric Le Floch with the backing of Paluel-Marmont Capital.

In 2011, the group was taken over by its management backed by Alliance Entreprendre, Paluel-Marmont Capital and Sodero. Eric Le Floch was named Chairman of the Supervisory Board With Philippe Gauthier as Chief Executive Officer. Led by Olivier Laulan,  Alliance Etiquettes is composed of the Groupe Laulan, Editions Enès, Maumy Impression, Imprimerie D3 and Applic’Etains. Olivier Laulan and Groupe Etienne’s management will reinvest alongside Activa Capital.

This merger creates the market leader in France by reinforcing our presence among independent winemakers as well as large négociants and wine cooperatives. It also reinforces our geographical network by adding Anjou, Touraine, and South-East France, said Olivier Laulan, CEO, Alliance Etiquettes.

With this investment, Alliance Etiquettes is further developing its buy-and uild platform. Our ambition is to become the European leader on the market for premium labels. To this end, we will continue to identify and study external growth opportunities, in France and abroad, added Christophe Parier, Partner, Activa Capital.

We have accompanied Groupe Etienne for the past six years, a period of sustained development by both organic and external growth. Joining Alliance Etiquettes is an important new step for the company that creates a leader in wine bottle labels, said Laurent Colléatte, Deputy CEO of Alliance Entreprendre.

About Alliance Etiquettes

Alliance Etiquettes is a French company specialised in high-end labels for the wine, spirits, and agro-food sectors. With Olivier Laulan as CEO, the company generates turnover of €50 million in France and outside France. For further information, please visit our website: allianceetiquettes.com

About Activa Capital

Activa Capital is a leading French mid-market private equity firm. Activa Capital manages over €500m of private equity funds on behalf of a wide range of institutional investors. Activa Capital partners with ambitious mid-sized French companies, valued at €20m to €200m, seeking to accelerate their growth and their international footprint. Learn more about Activa Capital at activacapital.com or on Twitter @activacapital