Mentha acquires Etiket

Ellie Pullen
20 February 2014

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Dutch GP Mentha Capital has acquired Dutch producer of self-adhesive labels Etiket Nederland via its fourth mid-market buyout fund, which recently held its first close on €51m.

Etiket's founders retained a stake in the business. Mentha acquired a majority shareholding.

The firm will execute a buy-and-build strategy to grow the company, according to Mentha partner Edo Pfennings. Talks regarding potential bolt-ons are already in place.

The deal was intermediated by a corporate finance firm holding a small auction process, described as "not particularly competitive" by Pfennings. A select group of private equity houses were invited to bid for Etiket, but Mentha's close existing ties with the company's management gave the firm prime position for an acquisition, the GP said. The deal took roughly three months to complete.

The Etiket acquisition and the first close of Mentha Capital Partners IV were announced by the firm together. The deal marks the second buyout executed through MCP IV.

MCP IV held a first close halfway towards its €100m target this month. Mentha expects the fund to reach its target by June this year. The fund will invest in the Dutch lower mid-market, typically providing equity tickets of €5-15m.

Debt
A debt package making up around 50% of the deal value was supplied by Rabo Bank.

Company
Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Alkmaar, Etiket Nederland specialises in the production of self-adhesive labels. The company employs 60 staff and claims to produce approximately 25 million labels per day over 12 production lines.

Etiket's clients mainly operate in the retail, food, industrials and logistics sectors. Customers include Haribo, Yakult, McCain and Adidas.

The company has been growing at a rate of around 15% per year, according to Pfennings.

People
Mentha partner Edo Pfennings worked on the deal.