Diana sale could yield €1bn for Axa PE

A potential sale could reportedly fetch up to €1bn. Axa PE bought Diana Ingredients from Motion Equity Partners (then Cognetas) in 2007, a transaction that valued the company at €710m (around 12x EBITDA at the time).

Motion Equity, which reaped more than 4x its money and an IRR in excess of 60%, reinvested €80m in the SBO as a minority shareholder via its fund Cognetas II. Hawkpoint and BNP Paribas ran a hotly-disputed auction process that attracted interest from more than 10 private equity firms and several industrial buyers.

BNP Paribas and Royal Bank of Scotland arranged a debt package that comprised A-, B- and C-tranches, as well as capex and revolver facilities. The all-senior debt package was valued at around €415m, or 7x EBITDA.

Since then, Diana embarked on an agressive acquisitive growth strategy. It notably bought four businesses in the space of six months last year, culminating in the purchase of Givaudan's vegetables, wines and vinegars extracts range in November.

Diana is a supplier of natural ingredients for the food and pharmaceutical industry. Headquartered in Vannes, Diana employs 1,500 staff and generated a €392m turnover in 2011.

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