Paris, Huizen – 23 May 2017. French agricultural cooperative group InVivo Group (www.invivo-group.com) intends to buy a 100% share in the Dutch-based Baarsma Wine Group (www.baarsma.com). The company has reached an agreement to this effect with Baarsma Wine Group’s current shareholders, private equity firm AAC Capital Partners, and the management. Over the next few years, InVivo Group wishes to grow its international wine activities both autonomously and through acquisitions. The intended acquisition will be submitted for approval by the Competition authority. Neither company is disclosing financial details of the transaction.

InVivo Group, with an annual turnover of €6.4 billion and 9,200 employees, has a presence in 31 countries across the globe. Its activities are concentrated within four divisions: Agriculture, Animal Nutrition and Health, Retail and Wine. The wine division, InVivo Wine, already has stakes in various French wine companies and commercial activities in Asia and North America. Representing an annual turnover of approximately €348 million, the focus is on the production and bottling of wines and the market representation of over 23 cooperatives (3500 wine makers). Vinadeis (www.vinadeis.fr), as part to its wine division, has bottling and packaging facilities for wines that, under various brand names, mainly reach the French domestic market. Cordier is developing an outstanding range from Bordeaux with a modern approach and Mestrezat is specialised in Grands Crus wines.

The Dutch-based Baarsma Wine Group is a European leader in wine imports and distribution. The group has an annual revenue of approximately €210 million, 250 fulltime employees and is active in the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Switzerland and South Africa. The strength of the company lies in marketing wines nationally and internationally to retail, the hospitality and foodservice sector, specialist stores and in some countries directly to consumers. The product portfolio includes wines of internationally renowned and successful wineries, own brands and private label wines for supermarkets and foodservice companies. In addition to sourcing, distribution, sales and marketing, Baarsma Wine Group also runs its own bottling facility in Zaandam, the Netherlands, and produces and bottles some of its wines in Switzerland and South Africa.

Commenting on the intended acquisition, Mr Bertrand Girard, Managing Director of InVivo Wine, said: ‘InVivo Wine’s strategy is to accelerate its development internationally so as to build access to markets and create added value for the wine industry from grapes to consumers. Baarsma will be a key distribution platform for InVivo Wine in Europe and will perfectly complement existing footholds and those currently in development within the group, especially in Asia and North America. With Baarsma, 80% of InVivo Wine’s current operations will be international, aiming to achieve a turnover of 500 million euros by 2020 on the international scene.’

Mr Cees de Rade, Managing Director of Baarsma Wine Group, looks forward to working with the new shareholder: ‘This acquisition is good news for our people in the first place. We think that Baarsma Wine Group stands to benefit from bringing on board a strategic shareholder who shares our international ambitions. InVivo Wine and Baarsma Wine Group complement each other well in the wine supply chain. Our joint growth plans are very ambitious. However, with our existing suppliers and customers it will mostly be business as usual.’

InVivo Wine and Baarsma Wine Group , subsidiaries included, will continue to operate autonomously and under their own names. There will not be an organisational merger. In the years to come, the expansion outside of France will be driven mainly from the Netherlands, with a leading role for the management of Baarsma Wine Group. Mr Cees de Rade (CEO) and Mr Ed van der Sluijs (CFO), will also become members of InVivo Wine’s Executive Committee, chaired by Bertrand Girard.

Both companies expect to complete the acquisition by early summer.

[End]

Today, Rabobank is announcing the launch of the Rabo Food & Agri Innovation Fund, part of Rabo Private Equity. The fund will invest in high-potential, early-stage food and agriculture companies in the United States and Western Europe. Through the fund, Rabobank aims to promote innovation in the food and agriculture sectors.

“The Rabobank Food & Agri Fund focuses on companies that are aligned to Rabobank’s Banking for Food strategy. This strategy focuses on contributing to food security in the context of a rapidly growing world population, changing demographics and consumption patterns and an increasingly complex food system,” says Lizette Sint, Global Head of Rabo Private Equity.

“We consider investments all along the food and agriculture value chain, with a particular focus on ambitious companies that operate in sectors in which we can optimally leverage Rabobank’s knowledge, expertise, network and position to help create shareholder value,” says Richard O’Gorman, who leads the investment initiative as part of Rabo Private Equity.

The fund’s investments will consist of more than just financial support. In addition to Rabobank’s role as a close investment partner, the selected companies will enjoy full access to Rabobank’s food and agriculture experts and networks with the goal of building long term value together.

The Rabo Food & Agri Innovation Fund is complementary to the other activities the bank supports in the food and agri space, including its indirect investments in strategic venture capital and private equity funds.

For more information about the Rabobank Food & Agri Innovation Fund, please visit www.rfaif.com.

About Rabobank

Rabobank Group is a global financial services leader providing wholesale and retail banking, leasing, and real estate services in more than 40 countries worldwide. Founded over a century ago, Rabobank today is one of the world’s largest banks with over $750 billion in assets. In the Americas, Rabobank is a premier bank to the food, agribusiness and beverage industry, providing sector expertise, strategic counsel and tailored financial solutions to clients across the entire food value chain. Additional information is available on our Rabobank North America Wholesale website or on our social media platforms, including Twitter and LinkedIn.

AAC Capital ( “AAC” ), a leading Benelux mid-market buyout firm, today announced the acquisition of Yarrah Organic Petfood B.V. ( “Yarrah” ) from Vendis Capital ( “Vendis” ). Yarrah is a leading European organic pet food brand with its headquarters in Harderwijk, the Netherlands. The management team of Yarrah, led by CEO Bas van Tongeren, will invest alongside AAC.

Yarrah is the leading organic pet food brand in Europe with a complete range of organic products for cats and dogs. All products are certified organic, which means all animal and plant ingredients need to live up to the highest quality restrictions to comply with the organic seal, meaning a.o. no exposure to chemical additives or preservatives, no use of hormones, but also maintaining high animal welfare standards for livestock used. The company supplies dry food (in bags) and wet food (both multi serve in cans and single serve in aluminium trays).

There is a trend towards pet owners feeding their cats and dogs organic food, driven by consumers who are becoming increasingly conscious of their own health and nutrition. Yarrah is ideally positioned to leverage on this trend as the European market leader in the organic pet food niche. Since Yarrah was founded in 1992, the company expanded its footprint beyond the Netherlands and currently serves health conscious pet owners in its core markets Germany, France and the Netherlands.

This is the fourth platform acquisition for AAC’s Benelux focussed Fund, and matches perfectly with AAC’s philosophy of supporting local champions in their growth ambitions.

Bas van Tongeren, CEO Yarrah, says:

“We are proud of the partnership with Vendis, through which we have successfully grown further in the organic market, and laid the foundation for our ambitions into pet specialty. In AAC we have found the perfect partner to support us in the next leg of our journey. The partnership with AAC will allow us to expand into upcoming organic markets and accelerate our expansion in the pet retail channel.”

Marc Staal, Chairman at AAC, says:

“Yarrah is operating in a growing ‘on-trend’ niche market as the European specialist in organic pet food. Bas van Tongeren and his team have a clear vision and philosophy: providing a healthy and sustainable pet food alternative to what is currently on offer in the market. Yarrah takes a leading role in pure organic pet food; food that’s not only better for pets, but for all animals. Yarrah’s view on its future business development, both in terms of geographies, distribution channels and new product development are well defined and being executed with high momentum. AAC is excited to be partnering with Yarrah and keen to facilitate Bas and his team to deliver upon their continuing growth ambitions.”

Michiel Deturck, Partner at Vendis, says:

“Yarrah is a leading brand operating in a fast-developing niche and we are very happy that Yarrah found a strong partner with AAC that can support the next growth phase of the company. We want to thank the management team for a very pleasant and successful partnership and wish the team all the best with its new partner.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

About AAC Capital

With offices in Amsterdam and Antwerp, AAC is a leading Benelux mid-market buy-out firm, which has to-date completed 30 management buyouts, of which 24 have been realised. It targets opportunities for majority stakes in profitable, cash-generative companies headquartered in the Benelux. AAC’s deal size is typically between €10 and €150 million, and it is currently investing from its third, Benelux focussed fund. AAC is a growth-oriented investor, with such companies in its portfolio as Desotec, Corilus, Lubbers Transport Group and Hobré Instruments.

www.aaccapital.com

About Vendis Capital

Vendis Capital is an independent private equity firm focused on building and investing in small to medium-sized branded consumer companies in Europe that are well positioned for value-creating growth or transformation. Vendis Capital aims to enter into partnerships with experienced entrepreneurs and managers to support the growth of their companies. The Vendis team operates out of 3 offices located in the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

www.vendiscapital.com

For media enquiries, please contact:

Hill + Knowlton Strategies Nederland

Ariën Stuijt

E: arien.stuijt@hillandknowlton.com

T: +31 20 404 47 07

NPM Capital and the management of Kramp reached in consultation with Schouw shareholder agreement to acquire the 20% interest of the Danish investment company in Kramp. Kramp in 2013 merged with its rival Grene, at that time owned by Schouw & Co. After the merger, Schouw received a 20% stake in the combined company.

NPM Capital, which has a stake since 2010 Kramp, the largest technical wholesale for the agricultural sector in Europe has been very constructive cooperation with Schouw after the merger in 2013. Johan Terpstra, Investment Director at NPM Capital said in a note: “Kramp and Grene already formed a very good team. We have achieved after the merger of the two organizations together all the stops to the synergies we actually realize asked us when goal. With this step we underline that we want to stay a long time on board and to facilitate Kramp management in realizing its growth ambitions. “

Eddie Perdok CEO of Kramp shows to be pleased with the expansion of the interest in Kramp. “Kramp is a great company with an excellent market position in Europe. We have engaged and motivated employees and together we are working hard to get it back to do a little better every day. With this strengthening of our ownership position we underline the confidence in our organization and in our management and in our future. “

The transaction expected to close before the end of 2016.

Nestlé and R&R, a leading ice cream company based in the UK, have agreed to set up Froneri, a joint venture with sales of around CHF 2.7 billion in over 20 countries employing about 15,000 people.

Froneri will be headquartered in the UK and will operate primarily in Europe, the Middle East (excluding Israel), Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the Philippines and South Africa. The new company will combine Nestlé and R&R’s ice cream activities in the relevant countries and will include Nestlé’s European frozen food business (excluding pizza and retail frozen food in Italy), as well as its chilled dairy business in the Philippines. The transaction is subject to employee consultations and the approval of regulatory authorities. Financial details are not being disclosed.

Paul Bulcke, Nestlé CEO:
“This is an exciting growth opportunity in a dynamic category. Froneri will capitalise on complementary strengths and innovation expertise, combining Nestlé’s strong and successful brands and experience in ‘out-of-home’ distribution with R&R’s competitive manufacturing model and significant presence in retail.”

Ibrahim Najafi, R&R Ice Cream CEO:
“I am thrilled about the potential of Froneri and the opportunity for R&R to combine with the biggest and best food business in the world. R&R has gone from strength to strength in the last few years and the blend of people from the two organisations will create a leading team, ideally suited to drive future growth.”
Frédéric Stévenin, Partner at PAI Partners: “Froneri, through the combination of Nestlé’s and R&R’s expertise, and the backing of PAI Partners, is a unique and exciting opportunity for further strong growth. We look forward to further leveraging our industrial approach to ownership and strong consumer expertise to support R&R in this new venture.”

Luis Cantarell, Nestlé Executive Vice President Europe, Middle East and North Africa, will chair Froneri’s Board of Directors which will be composed of three senior Nestlé executives and three senior executives appointed by private equity firm PAI Partners, R&R’s owner. Ibrahim Najafi will be Froneri CEO. Nestlé and PAI will have equal equity interests in the joint venture.