Herkules in NOK 2.2bn Espresso House exit

The GP's NOK 6bn Herkules III fund sold Espresso House less than three years after acquiring the company from Palamon Capital Partners in September 2012.

CEO Adriano Capoferro will continue in his position following the deal. Capoferro and management's stake in Espresso House is valued at more than NOK 250m.

Sverre Flåskjer, who was recently made managing partner of Herkules, told Norwegian financial paper DN.no that Espresso House was one of the firm's best ever investments. The paper reported a deal value of NOK 2.2bn, with the owners standing to make NOK 1.3bn profit on an original purchase price of NOK 640m.

For the acquirer, Espresso House will form part of its already substantial coffee holdings. In 2014, Jab helped establish one of the world's largest retail coffee companies when Mondelez combined its coffee business with Jab-owned DE Master Blenders to create Jacobs Douwe Egberts.

Jab owns a substantial stake in Jacobs Douwe Egbert, which has a 16.3% market share of the global coffee retail market. The owners behind the vehicle are a branch of the German Benckiser family.

Jab also owns high-end retailers Jimmy Choo and Bally, as well as coffee retailers Peet's Coffee & Tea and Caribou Coffee.

Previous funding
Espresso House first came under private equity ownership in 2006, when Palamon Capital Partners acquired the company from its founders.

Palamon exited the company six years later, selling it to Herkules III for an estimated NOK 640m, generating a 3.4x multiple in the process.

Company
Espresso House is a Nordic coffee chain founded in Lund, Sweden in 1996 by Elisabeth and Charles Asker.

The company claims to serve 60,000 customers a day, generating revenues of SEK 937m from its 193 locations. Espresso House currently operates in Sweden and Norway, with plans to expand into Finland, and employs a workforce of 1,900.

People
Herkules managing partner Sverre Flåskjer led the deal for the GP. Adriano Capoferro is the CEO of Espresso House. Jab Holding's Peter Harf represented the acquirer.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Nordics
• Exits
• Consumer
• Sweden
• Norway
• Herkules Capital
• Palamon Capital Partners
• Trade sale
• Unq2015July