Alvarez & Squarefield support Enkco Foodgroup buyout
The management of Enkco Foodgroup, a Dutch-based manufacturer of meat and vegetarian food products, has jointly with private equity firm Gilde Buy Out Partners revealed plans to execute a buyout. With the venture-backed move, the new shareholders aim at accelerating the firm’s growth trajectory. Four external advisory firms supported the deal-making process.
With around 250 employees on its payroll, Enkco Foodgroup is midsized company in the Dutch food market. The firm consists of three separate entities. Enkco, founded in 1955, predominantly manufactures high quality meat products such as hamburgers and meat roulades. Culifrost, established in 2011, is a manufacturer of snacks, sausage rolls and enrichers for the food industry. Vivera – its meat replacement label – was founded in 1991 and has since grown to a pan-European player, with market leading positions in The Netherlands, Belgium and Italy.
Over the past ~10 years the ownership of Enkco Foodgroup was in the hands of a number of founders / management members and Molenbeek Invest, an investment firm that bought a large stake in 2006. Looking ahead, the management team of Enkco Foodgroup have now decided to initiate a management buy-out – the transaction is however still subject to approval from the Dutch Competition Authorities. Once the green light is given, the deal will be supported by Gilde Buy Out Partners, a European private equity investor with managed funds in excess of €2 billion. The PE-firm with offices in Utrecht, Zurich and Brussels focuses exclusively on mid-market buyouts in continental Western Europe between the range of €75 million and €600 million.
The acquirers were advised by M&A advisors from Alvarez & Marsal (Casper de Bruyn, Age Lindenbergh and Stephanie Scholten) and M&A lawyers from Clifford Chance (Han Teerink and Justin Kohnstamm). Seller Molenbeek Invest was supported by corporate finance boutique Squarefield (Matthijs Dekker, Paul Huizinga and Gino Soeriowardojo) and legal firm Van Doorne (Onno Boerstra and Steffen Alleman).
With the transaction – terms and conditions have not been disclosed – Enkco Foodgroup expects to accelerate its growth both within the Netherlands and in Europe, as part of its broader long-term strategy to expand its portfolio and market share in the regional food industry. In a press release, Enkco says it “welcomes” its new partner, a development which will further “support the continuation of its growth and ambitions for the coming years”.
