Charterhouse expected to launch Optima's sale by early 2023

The private equity owner has not yet given any mandates, the sources said. It is expected to start selecting advisors later this year, with the process anticipated to begin around the end of 2022 or early 2023, three of the sources said.

Management has been monitoring the process to sell Optima’s Italian competitor, Irca, earlier this year and has waited to see how that deal would turn out before proceeding, two of the sources said.

Irca, which produces chocolate, pastry, ice cream and baking products, and Optima are among the largest players in their sector in Italy, these two sources said. In April, private equity firm Advent International bought Irca from Carlyle in a transaction that valued the company at EUR 1bn.

Optima would come to market after almost six years of Charterhouse ownership. Mergermarket reported last June that conversations about a potential disposal were underway, and that the sponsor would begin sale preparations before the end of the year.

Charterhouse tried to put Optima on the market last year, working with an unnamed advisor, one of the sources said, adding that no suitable buyers were found at the time.

The current timing would be good for a sale as multiples for similar assets are very high, a sector banker said, noting that the food-ingredients sector has come under the spotlight as food becomes more regulated and analysed by consumers and manufacturers alike.

Top-quality food ingredients businesses are therefore seeing a good opportunity to maximise value, and this is expected to be a very important area of growth, the banker added.

Optima has made a string of acquisition under Charterhouse’s ownership, including the takeover of Brazilian peer Blend Coberturas in 2019, to increase its size in the South American country by up to 35%; Italian competitor Giuso Guido in 2018 for an undisclosed amount; and Modecor Italiana, an Italian firm active in the production of pastry decorations, for more than EUR 25m in 2017, as reported.

Charterhouse and Optima declined to comment.

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