Rumours surrounding the potential sale of Valeo began to circulate in March this year. That was after it was reported that former Premier Foods chief executive Gavin Darby was working with private equity firm Cinven on an offer for the Dublin-based company.
Seamus Kearney, group chief executive of Valeo Foods, will continue to the lead the business with the existing management team under the terms of the announced deal.
Future growth
Commenting on the sale, Kearney said: “Bain Capital’s deep knowledge and heritage in innovation and investment in the food and grocery sectors means this is great news for our business and our people.
“We are very excited to work alongside the Bain Capital team as we continue our journey and pursue our ambitious plans for further growth in the future.”
Since CapVest created it in 2010, Valeo has grown from a purely Irish business with sales of €200m into a business with more than €1.1bn in sales that operates in 106 markets around the world. Its portfolio of brands includes Kettle, Jacobs (in Ireland), Rowse and Barratt.
The company employs more than 4,000 people across the UK, Italy, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Germany and generated a total output of 400,000 tonnes per year across 24 facilities.
Major international food business
Jason Rodrigues, partner at CapVest, added: “The sale of Valeo Foods represents the culmination of our strategy to build a major international food business through a combination of strategic investment, innovation and complementary acquisitions of businesses and brands in categories with stable demand characteristics, where we have applied our team’s deep experience to drive sustainable growth.
“It has been a great partnership with an exceptional leadership team led by Seamus Kearney. Together we have created a high-performing and growing leader in ambient foods. We look forward to seeing Valeo Foods continue to flourish under Bain Capital’s ownership.”
CapVest and management received financial advice from Goldman Sachs, legal advice from Willkie Farr & Gallagher and financial due diligence services from KPMG. It also received commercial due diligence services from EY-Parthenon, and tax due diligence and structuring services from PWC.
Bain Capital Private Equity received financial advice from Credit Suisse and Houlihan Lokey and legal advice from Weil Gotshal & Manges. It also received financial due diligence, tax and structuring services from PWC, commercial and strategy due diligence services from OC&C, and operations and IT due diligence services from Alix Partners.
The transaction remains subject to approvals by regulatory authorities.
Meanwhile, Real Good Food has agreed to sell its snack bar business Brighter Foods to THG for £43m, allowing it to focus on its cake decoration subsidiaries Renshaw and Rainbow Dust Colours.