Frulact changes hands from French to Italian ownership in a €600 million deal

The Italian food ingredients company Nexture, controlled by the venture capital firm Investindustrial, will be the new owner of the Portuguese company Frulact, which had been put up for sale by the French private equity firm Ardian.

The Bonomi family company submitted an offer valuing the Maia-based company at €600 million, according to the newspaper Expansión, surpassing the bids submitted by the José de Mello Group and the Scandinavian management company IK Partners, which were among the finalists.

Frulact was founded in 1987 by Arménio Miranda, becoming one of the world’s largest manufacturers of fruit-based preparations for the food industry with factories in Europe, Africa and North America. In 2020, already under the leadership of João Miranda, the company was sold to Ardian.

According to the Spanish newspaper, Investindustrial will integrate Frulact into Nexture, a holding company for ingredients recently set up by the Italian fund following the integration of Italcanditi and CSM Ingredients, which, with the acquisition of the Maia-based company, is now valued at €2 billion.

As part of the French private equity manager’s portfolio, Frulact expanded its presence in Northern and Central Europe with the acquisition of IFF’s fruit preparations division and the integration of production platforms and factories in Germany, Switzerland and France. Last year, a new factory was opened in Logan, USA.

Frulact’s annual revenues currently stand at around €270 million, and EBITDA is expected to reach €45 million this year. Between loans and credit lines with ING, SMBC and Bank of Ireland, the industrial company’s debt currently exceeds €200 million.

Ardian, which was advised in this deal by US investment bank Evercore and Linklaters, has several investments in Portugal, the largest being the motorway concessionaire Ascendi, which manages 627 kilometres across six concessions. In March, it reached an agreement to buy the renewable energy company Akuo, which owns the Santas solar power plant, located in the municipalities of Monforte, Borba and Estremoz, in the Alentejo region.

At the end of the morning, in a statement sent to newsrooms, Ardian confirmed the deal and, through its managing director, Gonzalo Fernandez-Albinana, noted its “pride in having supported Frulact’s transformation from a highly successful family business into a global leader in its sector”. “Together, we have achieved significant milestones, including sustainable organic growth, targeted mergers and acquisitions, and a successful expansion of the company’s operations in North America”, he added.

“We are deeply grateful to Ardian for its unwavering support and commitment to Frulact’s growth over the past few years. As we enter this new chapter, we are excited to partner with Nexture to continue building on our solid foundation and accelerate our growth strategy in the coming years”, said Dinorah Mandic, CEO of Frulact, quoted in the same press release.