Ambienta picks Lazard for upcoming Nactarome sale

The auction of the Italian producer of natural flavours and ingredients is expected to launch in early 2022, two of the sources said.

Ambienta's meetings to select a sale adviser took place recently, the five sources said.

Ambienta, Nactarome and Lazard declined to comment.

Earlier this month, Italy's Il Sole 24 Ore reported that Nactarome had attracted the attention of a strategic suitor and that the approach prompted its financial sponsor to examine strategic options.

Nactarome generates EBITDA of approximately EUR 25m from revenues of EUR 130m, three of the sources said.

According to all the sources, the asset could command a valuation of 18-20x its EBITDA.

The portfolio company was rebranded as Nactarome in 2020 following the combination of Italian flavouring producers Aromata – in which Ambienta made its original investment in 2018 – and IPAM, as well as Nactis Flavours, a France-based aromatic raw materials, flavours and aromatic ingredients expert.

In May 2020, the group acquired Create Flavours, a UK-based producer of natural flavours for the food and beverage sector.

In April this year, it bought TasteConnection, a UK-based manufacturer of customised flavours in seasonings, ingredients blends, and culinary products.

With valuations for food and beverage (F&B) assets rising significantly over the past year, Unquote and Clearwater International recently explored the trends driving activity and pricing in the sector. Niche B2B players, notably those that produce speciality ingredients, were highlighted by Clearwater managing partner Philippe Guézenec as among those commanding premium multiples. PE-owned F&B targets also tend to fetch heftier valuations, as they have generally been well optimised by their current PE owners and are thus considered particularly low-risk by both trade and PE suitors.

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