Equistone nears Européenne des Desserts SBO

The French competition authority is reportedly in the process of authorising the sale, which would see Equistone taking over from Azulis and Céréa at the helm of the business. The deal could be worth in excess of €100m, according to French publication Capital Finance.

The deal would follow up on Equistone's investment in another French fruit dessert maker, Charles & Alice Group, alongside existing investor CM-CIC Capital Finance this summer.

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

The group is now expected to post a €140m turnover for 2013; it employs 800 staff.

Neither Equistone nor Azulis were available for comment.

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• Topics
• France
• Buyouts
• Exits
• Consumer
• France
• Equistone Partners Europe
• Azulis Capital
• Secondary buyout