RSS
Market and Sector Type: 
Manufacturing

Lion Capital in frozen food buy-outs

Article Date:  Jul 22 2008

Private equity firm Lion Capital has announced its intention to acquire two European frozen food manufacturers, FoodVest and Ad van Geloven. Terms of the two separate deals were not disclosed, but the companies have a combined turnover of more than £1.1 billion.

FoodVest was formed in 2006 when private equity funds advised by CapVest merged three businesses: UK seafood brand Young’s, Scandinavian frozen food manufacturer Findus and The Seafood Company, which sells smoked salmon, white fish and prawns to UK supermarkets. It is chaired by Seamus Fitzpatrick, a co-founder of CapVest.

The company has 6,000 employees and turned over more than £1 billion in 2007. Lyndon Lea, partner at Lion Capital, calls it ‘one of Europe’s leading food manufacturers’, adding that its brands are ‘household names in the UK, Scandinavia and France’.

Ad van Geloven is the holding company of Mora, a branded producer of frozen snacks and appetisers in the Benelux countries. The company is being sold by Dutch buy-out firm Egeria, under whose ownership it acquired Mora from consumer goods giant Unilever in 2006.

Founded in 1960 in Holland, Ad van Geloven employs 900 people in five factories in the Netherlands and Belgium, and generated sales of €170 million (£135 million) in 2007.

Comments 

There are currently no comments on this article

Sign up and get...

  • Regular GrowthBusiness newsletters
  • Post comments on articles
Sign up

Hiscox Business Insurance 

Life’s full of uncertainties, but you never want to be in any doubt about your business insurance. Hiscox offers broad and inclusive business insurance available online. You can tailor a policy to suit your business needs from a broad range of covers. Find out more.

Secure early payment for your unpaid invoices with Simply Business

Simply Business works with a carefully selected panel of the UK's leading factoring and invoice discounting providers. Find out your cash flow options in minutes, you could have 90% of your invoices paid in 24 hours. To find out more click here

Selecting the right IT strategy in 2010

Owner managers and CEOs of fast-growing companies want IT-applications that accelerate competitive advantage and improve operational efficiency. This free whitepaper helps you plan and choose the right IT strategy for your business in 2010. Download ‘Selecting The Right Software Vendor’.

Research

  • Directors' Pay AIM 2009

    What should an AIM company pay its CEO or FD?
    What should a non-executive director or chairman expect to be paid?
    What benchmarks should AIM remuneration committee members be using when
    setting pay?

VCT Special Report 2009

This reports principle aim is to provide business owners seeking funding with information about the amount of funds that VCTs have to invest.

Cash Shells Special Report 2009

A comprehensive overview of cash shells on AIM and PLUS, companies that have become a significant feature on the market landscape.

More

Events Calendar

The Media Magnate Awards 2009

26th March, Vinopolis, London

More

More News: Mergers & Acquisitions

Bowmark backs Leaders buy-out

Lettings and property agency Leaders has been acquired in a £48 million management buy-out backed by Bowmark Capital.

Green light for Friends Reunited deal

Online information business Brightsolid has been given the official go-ahead for the acquisition of Friends Reunited Group for £25 million.

Hotbed backs Wheatley MBO

Wheatley Associates, a specialist software company, has undergone a management buy-out backed by private investor syndicate Hotbed.

More Manufacturing: Mergers & Acquisitions

Synseal Extrusions in MBO

Private equity house HIG Europe has acquired Synseal Extrusions, a supplier of doors, windows and conservatories.

Endless and NorthStar exit Excelsyn

Chemical specialist Excelsyn has been sold to US-based Albany Molecular Research for £12 million, providing an exit for its investors.

Moulton seals first Better deal

Better Capital, the private equity firm recently set up by Jon Moulton, has acquired aerospace components supplier Gardner.

Gresham sells Minivator for 3.4 times money

Mid-market investor Gresham Private Equity has sold its stake in stairlift manufacturer Minivator for 3.4 times its original investment. 

Childrenswear business in administration again

The Adams childrens’ clothing business, which has 120 stores in the UK, has gone into administration for the third time in three years.

Advertisement

Related articles

We're in recession, says Moulton

Jon Moulton, the founder of private equity group Alchemy Partners, says it’s time for entrepreneurs to ‘stop worrying about prosperity and to start thinking about survival’.

European VC talent recognised

Excellence in the venture capital (VC) world was rewarded last night at the Investor AllStars awards.

Quotient Bioscience nets £35 million

A provider of analytical services for bioscience and sport has secured an investment of £35 million from private equity firm TA Associates, which takes a minority stake in the company. UK-based Quotient Bioscience, which has acquired four businesses since it was founded last year, will use the funding to fuel further acquisitive and organic growth in Europe and North America.

US and UK top financial index

The US and the UK have the best financial systems in the world, according to an index launched by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Defying the credit crisis, slowing growth and recent high-profile institutional collapses, the US takes first place with the UK a close second, both countries outstripping the rest of the top ten by a significant margin. 

Poll

What should Alistair Darling deliver in the Budget?




Have your vote on current issues

People who read this also read

  • The Art Group in private equity buy-out

    The developer of a system allowing art gallery visitors to purchase prints via the internet has been acquired by turnaround specialist RCapital for an undisclosed sum. The Art Group had been ‘unable to secure the funding they needed from traditional sources,’ according to RCapital MD Jamie Constable.

  • Ten Alps’ Twenty First Century deal

    A factual media group co-founded by Bob Geldof has bought a video production company that produces content for organisations, such as Nike, Sage, the NHS and the Prince’s Trust. Ten Alps, which has TV, radio and Internet operations, bought Twenty First Century Media to strengthen the online video production business it established in November.

  • Pearson increases Nigerian interests

    A US-based international educational products specialist has taken a majority stake in an African publisher, increasing its exposure to a country that has 35 million students. Pearson, which has its European headquarters in Edinburgh, has bought a 22 per cent stake in Longman Nigeria for an undisclosed sum.

  • Investcorp announces CEME deal

    Investcorp, a London-based provider and manager of alternative investments, has agreed to buy an Italian producer of pumps and valves for domestic appliances. CEME, which makes components for espresso machines, steam ironing systems and condensing gas boilers, is being sold by Barclays Private Equity three years after it bought the business.

  • Wyatt acquires benefits consultancy

    Employment consultancy Wyatt Group has acquired employee benefits specialist TEBC for £150,000. Two deferred payments each of £75,000 are to be made on the first and second anniversaries of the deal’s completion.

White Papers

Better Roads

Serves the information needs of governments and construction contractors involved in Federal, State, County, City and Township highway, road and bridge construction, winter maintenance, roadside and vegetation management and other highway-related projects.

Defense Technology International

Is the one publication focusing on the critical role of defense technologies in programs, policies, programs and funding, providing readers with integrated intelligence and global perspective in Land, Sea, and Air.

FierceGovernmentIT

Is a free, three times a week email briefing for government employees and contractors on the latest government technology news.

More