AXA Private Equity acquires a majority stake from Gimv in food ingredients company Sfinc
AXA Private Equity has announced today that it has acquired a majority stake from Gimv in the Benelux food ingredients group Sfinc, alongside the company’s management and Axxess Partners.
Sfinc (www.sfinc.be) was established in 2004 and is active in the food processing industry. The company produces and distributes spices, marinades and functional food ingredient blends for food processing companies. The strengths of Sfinc are its in depth knowledge of food ingredients, nutraceuticals, coatings, aromas and spices, its technological expertise and innovative concepts.
Sfinc is the result of a merger in 2004 between two Belgian companies, Rejo and Pellicula. Rejo historically targets retail/distribution channels while Pellicula’s primary client segment is the food processing industry. In 2007, Sfinc completed the acquisition of three complementary businesses, being Maes Specerijen, Surplus and the FFI in the Netherlands.
As a result of a buy-in transaction in 2004, Gimv and buy-in manager Chris De Wolf acquired a majority stake in the newly formed group. Since then turnover has more than doubled from EUR 15 million to an estimated EUR 35 million in 2008.
The existing management team, headed by CEO Chris De Wolf, will remain in charge of the company and will pursue the group’s buy and build strategy. ‘We are pleased to have found in AXA Private Equity a first-class partner with a deep understanding of the food ingredient sector, strong track-record in build-ups and a well-rounded international network’ commented Chris De Wolf.
‘Our investment in Sfinc is a perfect example of how we like to work. This is a quality company with a quality management team. We look forward to supporting Sfinc over the long term, including both organic and external growth internationally’ added Arnaud Dufer, Director at AXA Private Equity.
The sale has a positive impact of EUR 7.1 million (EUR 0.31 per share) on Gimv’s last published equity value as of 30 September 2008. No further financial details on this transaction will be published.