IK Investment Partners (“IK”) has received an irrevocable binding offer from Ardian Mid Cap Buyout for the sale of Solina Group (“Solina” or “the Group”), a leading European food solutions provider.
On the basis of this offer, IK has entered into exclusive discussions with Ardian Mid Cap and Solina Group will consult its relevant French working councils on the merits of entering into a definitive agreement.
Solina is a provider of food ingredient solutions in Europe with over 40 years’ experience in the design and production of ingredient-based functional and culinary solutions for the food industry. The Group offers solutions in three key areas – taste and visual solutions, functional solutions and nutritional solutions – and covers the entire food industry in Europe offering unparalleled experience and know-how to its clients.
The Group was created following IK’s acquisition of Savena in 2011 and the subsequent acquisition of Sfinc in the Benelux area. During IK’s ownership, Solina Group has successfully completed several add-on acquisitions in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and France to expand its operations and further shape the Group’s geographic footprint. In total, Solina Group has 8 R&D centres and 11 production plants across Europe and Asia, with around 1,000 employees worldwide. In 2014, the Group generated pro forma sales of EUR305m.
“Solina is a typical IK investment case of a national champion being transformed into a European leader. During IK’s ownership, the group has shown an impressive growth, both organic and through transforming build-ups across Northern Continental Europe, quadrupling its sales and increasing both its ingredient solutions offering and its customers access. Solina has evolved from a group of local companies into a fully integrated acquisition platform generating substantial cross-selling opportunities. We are proud to be partners with this extremely talented management team led by Eric Terré and Laurent Weber,” says Dan Soudry (pictured), Partner at IK and advisor to the IK 2007 Fund.
“Solina pursues a dual strategy, combining organic development and acquisitions with the objective of offering new products and services to our customers while maintaining a high level of flexibility and proximity. Over the last four years, with the help and strong support of IK, Solina has more than exceeded its objectives and become a European leader within its field. We are delighted to start a new stage of our development with new partners who will provide us with human and financial resources to capitalise on our growth potential in Europe and accelerate our export strategy in Asia and the US,” says Eric Terré, CEO of Solina Group.
