EMZ Partners invests in Ankerkraut

The Lemcke family will remain as majority shareholders, while the company's pre-existing minority shareholders will also remain on board. Ankerkraut's management team will acquire a stake in the business, according to a statement from EMZ's legal adviser, Latham & Watkins.

Angel investors have previously backed the company, according to Deutsche Startups. Frank Thelen held a stake of 20%, while Matthias Knälmann owned 10% of the business.

EMZ's mezzanine investment has no equity warrant.

Ankerkraut plans to expand its product portfolio to include sauces in the near future, according to a statement.

EMZ invested via EMZ 9, which held a final close in July 2020 on €1.043bn, having registered the fund in January 2019, surpassing its target of €900m. The fund was 30% deployed as of the final close in July. The vehicle generally makes investments of €50m, but can invest in the range of €10-100m.

Company
Founded in 2013 by Stefan and Anne Lemcke, Ankerkraut is a specialised retailer selling spices – including spice blends – for use in drinks, cooking, baking and barbecuing. It also sells teas, advent calendars and gifts. The company is based in Jesteburg, with offices and production sites in Hamburg. It has 120 employees and reports sales of less than €20m.

People
EMZ Partners – Klaus Maurer (partner).
Ankerkraut – Stefan Lemcke (CEO); Anne Lemcke (managing director).

Advisers
Company – Carlsquare (corporate finance).
Mezzanine – Latham & Watkins, Burc Hesse, Sebastian Pauls, Corinna Freudenmacher, Chris Freitag, Andreas Holzgreve, Christina Mann (legal).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• DACH
• Consumer
• Germany