Gilde sells Vivera to JBS in €341m deal

The sale includes three manufacturing plants and a research and development centre located in the Netherlands. JBS plans to manage Vivera as a standalone business unit led by its current management team.

Gilde hired Houlihan Lokey and Rabobank to run the sale of Vivera in January 2021, as reported by Unquote sister publication Mergermarket at the time. Dutch food companies Vion and Tönnies were mentioned as potential buyers by the Dutch press.

The sale ends a six-year holding period for Gilde, which bought Vivera and its parent company, meat producer Enkco, from Molenbeek Invest for around €80m. Subsequently, Gilde sold the meat business to Dutch company Van Loon Group in 2019 and Vivera became fully focused on plant-based products.

With this acquisition, JBS plans to strengthen its global plant-based protein platform, which currently includes Seara, with the Incrível range of plant-based hamburgers distributed in Brazil, and Planterra, with the Ozo brand sold in the US.

By joining forces with JBS, Vivera expects to access significant resources and capabilities, and accelerate its current growth trajectory, while boosting its international expansion.

JBS employs 245,000 staff in production plants and offices based around the world, with its main operations in Brazil, the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and China. The company's core business is food production, but it also has activities in the leather, biodiesel, collagen, personal care, packaging, waste management, recycling and transport sectors.

The listed company posted EBITDA of R$29.6bn from revenues of R$270bn in 2020, up from EBITDA of R$19.9bn and revenues of R$204.5bn recorded in 2019. However, the company generated net income of R$4.6bn, recording a 24% decrease on 2019.

Company
Established in 1990, Vivera develops and produces a range of 50 plant-based protein and meat replacement products.

The company employs 400 staff across three production sites and an R&D centre located in the Netherlands.

Vivera's products are available in more than 27,000 supermarkets in 25 countries across Europe. Its largest markets are the Netherlands, the UK and Germany.

The company generated revenue of around €85m in 2020 and expects to exceed turnover of €100m in 2021, according to press reports.

People
Vivera – Willem van Weede (CEO).
JBS – Gilberto Tomazoni (CEO).

Advisers
Acquirer – Jones Day (legal); Barclays (corporate finance).
Vendor – Loyens & Loeff (legal); Houlihan Lokey (corporate finance); Rabobank (corporate finance).

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• Topics
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