TATE & LYLE acquired by INGREDION

FrenchFood Capital becomes the majority shareholder of Fabulous French Brasseurs, a French brewing group structured around a portfolio of regional brands originating from several integrated craft breweries. The transaction reflects an ongoing consolidation trend within the fragmented craft beer market, where emerging multi-site platforms aggregate industrial assets and locally anchored brand equities. The group positions itself as a national consolidator of regional beer brands, combining territorial anchoring with industrial structuring and operational integration. The entry of FrenchFood Capital alongside Bpifrance and BNP Paribas Développement marks a new phase of capital and governance structuring aimed at accelerating the execution of a platform strategy. The rationale is to strengthen the group’s ability to pursue a buy-and-build approach within the regional brewery segment, in a context defined by cost inflation pressures, industrial rationalization needs, and the search for critical scale. The platform is intended to progressively elevate its flagship brands at national level while leveraging existing regional strongholds.

The combination of Eat Happy and Hana’s European business establishes a unified pan-Asian convenience platform encompassing approximately 5,800 points of sale across 14 European nations. This transaction represents a complete equity realization for Permira Funds within the European market following an expansion period since 2019. The consolidation merges Hana’s deep footprint in Western Europe with Eat Happy’s established network in Central Europe. Blending these complementary operational networks removes regional redundancies and deepens the product matrix offered to major grocery corporations. Retail partners gain access to a flexible dual-format solution pairing manned culinary kiosks with high-velocity automated chillers. The expanded scale increases purchasing power over volatile global seafood supply lines. One Rock Capital Partners structures this strategic investment to capture resilient consumer demand for healthy convenience foods. Combining these operating platforms mitigates the margin compression caused by rising labor costs in decentralized food preparation. The integrated entity holds a dominant market position positioned to secure long-term exclusivity agreements with consolidated European retail monopolies.

Orchard Foods Valley Ltd (backed by Orkla) has consolidated its position within the sweet ingredients category by executing the 100% share acquisition of Phoenix Brands, a specialized UK-based manufacturer of premium biscuits and baked inclusions. This strategic buy-and-build move establishes a robust operational foothold for the group, driving the localized expansion of its industrial manufacturing capabilities in the UK. The transaction directly reflects the acquirer’s portfolio diversification strategy, which targets high-margin, high-growth ingredient verticals. Phoenix Brands enhances the group's market offering by contributing an innovative, modern manufacturing platform alongside a high-quality product portfolio tailored to the exacting standards of both industrial food conglomerates and artisanal clients. By scaling this consolidated platform and capturing commercial synergies, the group intends to accelerate market share gains, optimize its competitive positioning, and meet the shifting demands of the wider food ingredients sector.

Global specialty chemicals leader International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) has entered into a definitive agreement to divest its Food Ingredients division to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. As part of this corporate carve-out, IFF will roll over an approximate 10% minority equity stake in the newly independent business. This transaction structure ensures continued operational collaboration and technological cooperation between the two entities while allowing the seller's shareholders to participate in future value creation under the sponsor's ownership. The deal execution was supported by an advisory syndicate featuring Citibank and the law firm White & Case. For the seller IFF, led by CEO Erik Fyrwald, this divestiture marks a major strategic milestone in its ongoing portfolio optimization initiative. The transaction enables the company to sharpen its operational focus and reallocate capital toward its higher-growth, innovation-driven core segments: Taste, Scent, and Health & Biosciences. The resulting streamlined profile will significantly improve IFF's cash flow characteristics and accelerate its strategic R&D investments. For the acquirer CVC Capital Partners, the buyout secures control of a globally recognized leader in texturants, emulsifiers, and plant-based solutions. The sponsor intends to leverage the asset's broad technology portfolio and scale to capture long-term macro growth trends, including rising global food consumption and the accelerating consumer demand for clean-label products.

Orange Capital Development has finalized the acquisition of an 80% majority stake in Effepi, marking a significant step in the construction of its specialized "Italian Frozen Food Excellence" platform. This strategic move follows the organization's previous acquisition of Gelit, a producer of frozen ready meals, and is designed to create a multidisciplinary frozen food hub. The strategic rationale for the transaction centers on the convergence of high-end dessert production with established savory meal distribution, allowing the group to offer a comprehensive "Italian experience" to global institutional and retail clients. Through this integration, the group aims to unlock significant industrial and commercial synergies, particularly in logistics and supply chain optimization within Northern Italy. The partnership focuses on leveraging existing commercial platforms to introduce the target's dessert portfolio into new high-growth regions, including the United States, Canada, and Australia. Furthermore, the firm intends to utilize its South East Asian capital links to facilitate entry into markets such as Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia. This consolidation reinforces the group's standing as a primary enabler of Italian food exports, providing the operational depth required to navigate complex global trade environments while maintaining artisanal quality standards.

Ambienta SGR, through its Small Cap fund, has acquired a majority stake in The Bridge from the founding Negro Marcigaglia family. The founders have committed to reinvesting alongside the private equity firm and will continue to play a key leadership role in the company's development. The strategic rationale for the acquisition is to capitalize on the robust growth of the plant-based food sector, driven by consumer shifts toward sustainable and healthier diets. Ambienta intends to leverage its international network and sustainability expertise to accelerate The Bridge’s expansion, strengthen its organizational structure, and further invest in product innovation. This transaction marks the second investment for Ambienta’s Small Cap strategy, following the recent acquisition of Pieco.

The transaction is structured as a significant strategic investment by One Rock Capital Partners into Eat Happy Group to simultaneously fund the acquisition of Hana Group's European operations. This corporate combination merges two highly complementary convenience food providers to establish an integrated pan-European fresh food platform. The institutional capital injection secures the necessary funding to combine corporate assets without overleveraging the target's balance sheet. Upon completion, the combined operating structure will control approximately 5,800 points of sale across fourteen European nations. This expanded geographic reach offers immediate diversification by introducing the Eat Happy brand into premium markets including France, the United Kingdom, and Spain. The industrial integration combines Hana's live-cooking kiosk expertise with the German operator's established chiller and shop-in-shop distribution formats. Supermarket partners will gain access to a highly flexible product assortment, maximizing retail sales volumes per square meter of store floor. Closing remains subject to mandatory consultations with relevant European works councils and customary anti-trust regulatory clearances. Willkie Farr & Gallagher provides exclusive legal advisory services to the acquiring sponsor.

BRIDOR has announced the acquisition of PANAMAR BAKERY GROUP for an enterprise value exceeding €1 billion, making it the largest transaction in the history of the LE DUFF Group. This landmark deal integrates 11 Spanish production sites and 2,600 employees into Bridor’s existing network, creating a global powerhouse with a combined turnover of €2.5 billion in 2026. The strategic rationale for the deal is rooted in the "Premiumization" of the frozen bakery market and the capture of the highly resilient Spanish tourism and retail channels. By acquiring the Valencian leader, Bridor immediately gains access to a competitive export hub via the Port of Valencia and adds 1,200 specialized references to its global portfolio. This acquisition is the fifth major move in a multi-year global investment plan, following recent entries into Australia and the Netherlands. The partnership is designed to harmonize high-volume industrial excellence with traditional bakery craftsmanship, effectively cementing Bridor’s undisputed leadership in the professional food service and premium retail sectors worldwide.

Danone has acquired 100% of Huel. This represents a significant milestone in the second chapter of the "Renew Danone" strategy, which focuses on accelerating growth through high-added-value acquisitions. This transaction allows the French group to establish a dominant position in the rapidly expanding "nutritiously complete" and functional nutrition category. The strategic rationale for the deal centers on the perfect alignment between Huel’s high-growth, plant-based protein portfolio and Danone’s global leadership in specialized nutrition. By acquiring Huel, Danone gains access to a cutting-edge digital business model and a premium, younger consumer base that is increasingly seeking convenient and healthy meal alternatives. The partnership is designed to be highly complementary, combining Huel’s entrepreneurial agility and D2C expertise with Danone’s industrial scale, research facilities, and extensive worldwide retail network. This move follows a series of targeted acquisitions by the group in the medical and biotic nutrition spaces, reinforcing its shift away from lower-margin traditional dairy toward high-performance, science-backed nutritional solutions. For Huel, the integration provides the necessary infrastructure to accelerate international expansion and enter new geographic markets more rapidly than it could as a standalone entity.

NextStage AM has acquired a majority stake in the Société des Eaux Minérales d’Arcachon (SEMA), taking over from the long-term owner and wine merchant Jean Merlaut, who exited his entire position. The transaction was carried out pari passu through the NextStage Evergreen vehicle and the "Pépites & Territoires" FPCI, representing a combined equity ticket of €30 million. Hervé Maudet, the co-owner and long-standing director of the company, has been appointed President and maintains a minority stake in the new structure. The strategic rationale for the acquisition is focused on transforming SEMA from a regional powerhouse into a national premium brand. With the company currently producing 50 million bottles annually and generating approximately 50% of its revenue from the restaurant trade, NextStage aims to double the size of the business over the next five years. The strategy involves strengthening the premium brand identity of the Abatilles and Source des Pins labels and expanding distribution networks significantly beyond the Southwest region of France. A key factor in the investment decision was SEMA’s superior water resource availability, with current extraction volumes remaining well below authorized administrative limits, providing a clear path for organic growth without the resource constraints faced by competitors. The deal was supported by a senior debt package (Tranches A and B) provided by the company’s historical banking pool and followed a competitive process involving generalist funds and family offices.