PANRICO acquired by GRUPO BIMBO

IK Investment Partners has agreed to acquire Salad Signature from AAC Capital. The company generated revenue of EUR176 million in 2015. This Secondary LBO facilitates the exit of AAC Capital, which had built the group through the merger of Johma and Hamal. IK's strategy is to support the management team in expanding beyond the core Benelux market into France, Scandinavia, the UK, and Germany, both organically and through add-on acquisitions.

Ardian has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire a majority stake in Solina Group from IK Investment Partners. This transaction marks the fifth Leveraged Buyout (LBO) in the company's history, highlighting its consistent cash flow generation and attractiveness to financial sponsors. Under the proposed structure, the management team will reinvest to retain approximately 15% of the capital (down from 27%). The acquisition is driven by a 4-5 year strategic plan focused on international expansion, specifically targeting new production facilities in Turkey and Russia to localize manufacturing and bypass geopolitical trade barriers.

Ardian, a pan-European private equity firm, acquired a majority controlling stake in Irca, a prominent family-owned Italian manufacturer of bakery and pastry ingredients. The transaction was executed through Ardian's Mid Cap Buyout fund, Axa Lbo Fund V. The deal structure also involved the acquisition and subsequent merger of two smaller entities controlled by the founding Nobili family, Italcima srl and D&D Service srl, to create a consolidated group. The Nobili family, who founded the company in 1919, opted to divest the majority of their holdings, with Roberto Nobili, a son of the patriarch, retaining a minority interest to ensure continuity and participate in the company's future growth. The primary rationale for the acquisition was to accelerate Irca's expansion strategy. Ardian plans to leverage its resources and international network to support the company's organic growth, particularly in foreign markets where it already has a strong presence. Furthermore, a key pillar of the strategy involves pursuing synergistic bolt-on acquisitions and consolidating the fragmented food ingredients market, both in Italy and abroad. The transaction was subject to customary closing conditions, including approvals from relevant European antitrust authorities.

TA Associates has executed a definitive agreement to acquire a 70% majority stake in Hana Group, marking a strategic transition from an entrepreneurial governance model toward an institutionalized corporate structure optimized for global market consolidation. The transaction is structured alongside a significant equity reinvestment from the Japanese culinary brand's historical founders, alignment that secures management continuity and leadership stability throughout the upcoming geographical expansion phase. By backing the existing management team, TA Associates intends to validate and accelerate the scalability of Hana Group's decentralized operating model. The post-closing strategic roadmap focuses on densifying the group's existing territorial footprint across European markets while systematically accelerating the monthly cadence of new corner openings within mass-market retail chains.

IK Investment Partners acquired a majority stake in Cérélia Group, succeeding a consortium of investors led by Sagard, Capzanine, Cerea Capital, and BNP Développement. The transaction was structured as a preemptive bid, valuing the group at approximately €300 million. The strategic rationale centers on accelerating the company's transition from a regional leader into a global champion of chilled dough and ready-to-bake products. Under the leadership of CEO Guillaume Réveilhac, who remains a significant minority shareholder, the partnership aims to leverage IK's financial backing to execute large-scale add-on acquisitions. This acquisition follows a successful integration phase under Sagard's tenure, which saw the company's revenue reach €212 million by 2014.

Solina Group continues its aggressive external growth strategy by acquiring the "Industrial Flavoring" division of the Finnish Paulig Group. This transaction includes the subsidiaries Lihel Oy (Finland), Nordfalks AS (Estonia), and Nordfalks Industrie AB (Sweden). The acquisition adds approximately EUR54 million in revenue to Solina, pushing its projected turnover to EUR320 million for 2015. Strategically, this deal completes Solina's coverage of Northern Europe (following the 2014 acquisition of SFK Food in Denmark) and opens new markets in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the Baltics. The transaction was financed using existing acquisition credit lines secured during Solina's 2014 refinancing.

Pamplona Capital Management has acquired Partner in Pet Food (PPF) from Advent International. This secondary buyout marks a successful exit for Advent, which originally carved out the business (then Provimi Pet Food) in 2011 for EUR188 million. Under Advent's ownership, PPF consolidated its position in Central & Eastern Europe and expanded into Western Europe (notably the Netherlands). Pamplona intends to back the current CEO, Attila Balogh, and continue the buy-and-build strategy to create a pan-European champion.

The founding family of Delices des 7 Vallees has opened the capital to private equity firm Sagard in an Owner Buy-Out (OBO) transaction, while the company's leader retained a significant stake. The partnership aims to fund an ambitious development plan, including doubling the production capacity of one of its French sites (opened in 2010) and establishing the company's first manufacturing plant outside of France to accelerate international sales. The deal is supported by capex credit lines and potential equity injections for future growth.

A.G. BARR has completed the acquisition of Funkin, the UK brand leader in the professional mixology market. The strategic rationale for the deal is the immediate integration of a fast-growing, high-margin brand (c. £9 million in sales) that provides A.G. BARR with a strategic "bridge" into the UK on-trade channel. By combining Funkin’s product innovation with A.G. BARR’s industrial and logistics scale, the group expects to accelerate the brand's international expansion and its penetration into the off-trade (retail) market. This acquisition allows the acquirer to capitalize on the structural growth of the cocktail market, where efficiency and consistency are becoming critical for high-volume hospitality operators. The deal highlights the trend of traditional beverage giants acquiring niche, high-growth "lifestyle" brands to rejuvenate their portfolios and tap into premium consumer experiences.

Olam International agreed to acquire 100% of the equity of McCleskey Mills Inc. from its owners. The deal is structured as a full‑control buy‑out, with the key employee shareholders, including Joe West, remaining in the business to drive integration and future growth. MMI brings into Olam’s portfolio the third‑largest U.S. peanut sheller, with two large shelling plants and a secure position in the Southeastern U.S. peanut belt, which produces 70% of the nation’s peanuts and is the lowest‑cost major origin globally. The acquisition allows Olam to backward‑integrate into U.S. peanut shelling and combine MMI’s shelling capacity with its existing peanut‑blanching and ingredient‑processing footprint in the U.S. (Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas) as well as its shelling operations in Argentina, India, and South Africa. Olam expects to achieve multiple cost synergies, including optimisation of procurement, logistics, and storage, and to expand its position as a leading global supplier of peanut‑based ingredients and blanched peanuts to food manufacturers and consumers.