Cinven acquires Partner In Pet Food from Pamplona

The deal comes three years after Pamplona acquired PPF with capital drawn from Pamplona Capital Partners IV.

Cinven was attracted to the company by its financial performance and position in what it considers a fragmented European market for pet food manufacturers. The GP is considering opportunities to consolidate the pet care market and progress with a buy-and-build strategy in the region.

The acquirer drew capital from Cinven VI, which held a final close on €7bn in July 2016, to fund the transaction.

Under the vendor's tenure, the company has expanded by increasing its product range and through acquisitions across western and central Europe.

Cinven hired the same law firm (CMS) that worked for the vendor on Pamplona's original acquisition of PPF from Advent. CMS' James Grimwood and Graham Conlon led a team of 60 lawyers in nine jurisdictions who worked on the deal.

Previous funding
Advent International acquired Hungary-based pet food manufacturer Provimi Pet Food from Provimi Group for an enterprise value of €188m in March 2011.

Advent exited the business, by then known as Partner In Pet Food, to Pamplona in a €315m EV secondary buyout in April 2015. According to Unquote sister publication Debtwire, Citigroup Global Markets, Raiffeisen Bank International and Unicredit arranged a €217m debt facility to support the deal.

Company
Established in 1999 and founded as a newco in 2011, PPF is headquartered in Budapest and produces wet and dry pet food. The company employs 1,400 people and distributes 450,000 tonnes of pet food across 38 countries in Europe.

People
Cinven – Maxim Crewe (partner).
Pamplona – Markus Noe-Nordberg (partner).
PPF – Attila Balogh (chairman, CEO).

Advisers
Equity – CMS,  James Grimwood, Graham Conlon (legal).
Vendor – Bank of America Merrill Lynch (corporate finance).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Exits
• CEE
• Consumer
• Hungary
• Cinven
• Pamplona Capital Management
• Secondary buyout