Equistone-backed Mademoiselle Desserts acquires Quality Pastries

The acquisition marks the latest development of the group's buy-and-build strategy, following that of UK-based Speciality Desserts – now known as Mademoiselle Desserts Corby – in 2012, and The Handmade Cake Company two years later. 

This latest addition should enable the group to grow its international clientele, and to expand its product offering, the GP said in a statement.

As part of the transaction, Mademoiselle Desserts is also refinancing the €70m unitranche debt subscribed by Ardian Private Debt in 2013 with a new acquisition facility, which should enable it to close a few more build-up transactions in Europe and North America.

On the management side, former commercial director of Quality Pastries Jan-Martin Ridder is taking over from Hans van Eerd as the company's CEO.

Quality Pastries will remain based in Weert, and will maintain its Netherlands activities while it develops its association with Mademoiselle Desserts. Upon its acquisition in 2013, the latter registered revenues of €140m – a number that has now grown to an estimated €175m this year.

Previous funding
In October 2013, Equistone acquired French desserts maker Européenne des Desserts from Azulis Capital and Céréa Gestion. The deal was understood to be worth in excess of €100m. Equistone invested via the Equistone Partners Europe Fund IV vehicle, which closed on €1.5bn at the start of that year, and secured a stake of around two thirds. Européenne's management team also took part in the buyout. The outgoing shareholders retained a minority stake in the business.

Ardian provided a €70m unitranche financing to support the transaction. The facility amounted to less than half of the transaction value, according to a source close to the situation. The deal followed Equistone's investment in another French fruit dessert maker, Charles & Alice Group, alongside existing investor CM-CIC Capital Finance the same year.

Céréa and Azulis had previously acquired frozen food producer Martine Spécialités from listed UK group Premier Foods in a management buyout in 2009, taking a mutual share of around 43%. A year later, the backers had created the holding Européenne des Desserts holding to merge Martine Spécialités with two other brands, Delmotte Pâtisserie and Trois Abers.

Company
Founded in 1997, Quality Pastries is a Dutch business based in Weert producing chilled and frozen pastries. More specifically, the group is specialised in the manufacturing of frozen puff pastries, choux pastries and sponges.

Established in 1984, Européenne des Desserts is a frozen baking catering for businesses active in the retail and catering sectors. In May 2016, Européenne des Desserts announced it rebranded as Mademoiselle Desserts. Mademoiselle Desserts currently employs more than 1,000 people across four production facilities in France and two in the UK, and claims to cover 75% of the French industrial pastries market. The group recorded revenues of more than €175m in 2015, with its main customers including French and UK-based retailers and supermarket chains such as Carrefour, Leclerc, Marks & Spencer, Picard, Brioche Dorée, Pomona and Brake.

People
Equistone Partners Europe – Guillaume Jacqueau, Arnaud Thomas (partners), Thierry Lardinois (director). 
Mademoiselle Desserts – Didier Boudy (CEO); Hervé Jean-Pierre (CFO).
Ardian – Guillaume Chinardet (head of private debt); Grégory Pernot (director); Gabrielle Philip (analyst).

Advisers
Equity – VanDoorne, Johan Boeren, Tjarda Tazelaar (legal); EY, Maurice Van Den Hoek, Bas Dantouma, Benjamin Kemper, Julien Famy (tax, financial/strategic/environmental due diligence).
Debt – Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Paul Lombard, Igor Kukht (legal).

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• Topics
• Portfolio management
• Benelux
• France
• France
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)
• Equistone Partners Europe
• Build-up
• Netherlands