Ardian sells majority stake in Irca to Carlyle

Alice Tchernookova
09 June 2017

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The Carlyle Group has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Italian artisan pastry and ice-cream maker Irca, taking over from Ardian.

Ardian had been Irca's majority owner since 2015, when it backed the group's management buyout with a €230m investment from its LBO Fund V.

The current deal sees Carlyle take an 80% stake from Ardian and founding family Nobili, which will continue to manage the business. Robert Nobili will stay on as company CEO.

Carlyle drew equity from Carlyle Europe Partners IV (CEP IV), closed on €3.75bn in 2015.

Ardian developed Irca's presence both at national and international level, the GP said in a statement. During its relatively short two-year holding period, the company's revenues grew from an estimated €200m in 2014 to €251m currently. Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction should be completed in Q3 2017, according to Carlyle.

Previous funding
In 2015, Ardian acquired a majority stake in Irca. Local press reports suggested that the company was valued at €230m, unquote" reported at the time.

As reported by unquote" sister publication Debtwire at the time, a club of banks including Banca IMI, BNP Paribas, UniCredit, Banca Popolare di Milano, GE Capital, IKB and UBI Banca provided a €100m senior debt package to support the transaction.

Company
Founded in 1919 by the Nobili family, Irca is a producer of artisanal pastry, ice-cream and baking products for industrial groups, bakeries, supermarkets and pastry shops. Irca started its ice-cream activity when it acquired the Joy Gelato group in 2014. The company owns three production sites in the Lombardy region, and has an established presence in around 70 countries in total, including in Italy, France, Germany, Spain and eastern Europe.

Headquartered in Gallarate, Italy, Irca employs 306 people and posted revenues of €251m in 2016, with €40m in EBITDA. A quarter of its sales were generated outside Italy.

People
Ardian – Yann Charenton (managing director); Nicolò Saidelli (managing director, head of Italy).

Advisers
Equity – BNP Paribas (corporate finance); DVR Capital (financial due diligence); Latham & Watkins (legal).
Vendor – Rothschild (M&A); UBS (corporate finance); Cube8 (corporate finance); Giovannelli (legal); Pedersoli (legal).