European buyout firm PAI Partners has secured €3.6bn in fresh equity to extend its hold over Froneri, the ice cream joint venture it created with Nestlé in 2016, in one of the largest continuation fund transactions seen in Europe, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The deal combines a new continuation vehicle, led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which has raised €1.75bn, and a direct €1.4bn co-investment by PAI and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). The transaction values Froneri – which owns brands including Häagen-Dazs in the US – at around €15bn including debt, according to unnamed people familiar with the matter.
PAI, which controls about 50% of Froneri, said the move reflects its conviction in the company’s long-term growth potential.
The deal marks the second continuation fund PAI has raised around the same asset, following a 2019 transaction that shifted Froneri out of its PAI Europe V fund. The repeat “CV-squared” structure highlights how private equity firms are increasingly turning to continuation vehicles to retain star assets beyond traditional fund lifecycles.
PAI originally bought R&R Ice Cream from Oaktree in 2013 before merging it with Nestlé’s ice cream business three years later to form Froneri. Since then, the venture has become one of the largest ice cream players globally, growing through acquisitions and portfolio expansion.
