Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance (Investec) has successfully exited its investment in Big Bear Group plc (Big Bear), the owner of Sugar Puffs and other food brands.
This follows the sale of the company to Glisten Ltd, a UK subsidiary of listed Finnish group, Raisio plc, in an GBP82 million transaction. Investec has realised an Internal Rate of Return on its original investment of over 37%.
Investec has supported Big Bear since its inception, backing its first acquisition in September 2003 of a non-core division from Northern Foods plc, with an integrated finance package comprising senior, mezzanine and equity components, and the subsequent acquisition of the Sugar Puffs, the Honey Monster and other brands from Pepsico Inc in 2005.
Investec backed a management team led by Paul Wilkinson, John Jackson (Joint Chairmen) and Mario Giannotta (CEO), to build the business via acquisition and organic growth. Since the first acquisition, management has increased Group EBITDA from GBP1 million to GBP12million through a combination or acquisition and organic growth, aggregating a portfolio of iconic food brands that includes Sugar Puffs, Fox’s Glacier, XXX Mints, Just Brazils and Harvest Cheweee.
James Stirling from Investec says: “The management team behind Big Bear inspired confidence from the outset in terms of their track records and clearly articulated business plan, and as a result our decision to partner with them was made that much easier. Adopting a pragmatic and flexible funding approach is central to our strategy of backing high-calibre entrepreneurs.”
