Ardian buys Berlys and Bellsolà

Ardian acquired its Berlys stake from Alantra Private Equity and Artá Capital, while it purchased a majority stake in Bellsolà from Landon Group Corporativo, which will retain a minority holding at completion of the transaction.

A source close to the matter told unquote" the shareholders' consortium generated €283m of total capital gains during its tenure, making a 3.3x cash return from the initial investment and 20% IRR.

According to local press reports, Berlys was valued within the €450-500m EV range, equating to a 10x EBITDA multiple. Other private equity houses were reportedly involved in the bidding process, including Cinven and PAI Partners.

The sellers were understood to have mandated PJT Partners to run the sale.

The buyer aims to merge the two companies. The new group will have 11 production plants and expects to generate €300m in revenues with 1,700 employees across 30 countries.

Berlys chair Julio Muñoz will continue to lead the combined business as chair, while Bellsolà general manager Bosco Fonts will become CEO of the merged group. Following the deal, both businesses will continue to trade under their own brands and keep their product portfolios.

Previous funding
Alantra and Artá acquired the business for an EV of €300m in October 2010. The management buyout saw Alantra's €550m Mercapital Spanish Buyout Fund III acquire a 55% stake in the company, while Artá – whose €400m vehicle is advised by Mercapital – took a 35% stake.

Companies
Berlys and Bellsolà specialise in the production and distribution of bread, pastry products and savoury snacks.

Formerly known as Panaderias Navarras, Berlys was founded in 1994 in Pamplona. It currently has seven production plants, two logistics centres, and distributes under the Bertina, Berlys and Korfest brands across Spain and 20 other countries.

In 2015, it generated €224m in revenues and employed 1,250 people, according to public documents. According to unquote" sister publication Mergermarket, the business generates EBITDA of around €50m.

Bellsolà is based in Barcelona and was founded in 1890. The business has two production plants.

People
Ardian – Philippe Poletti (head of Ardian Mid-Cap Buyout); Gonzalo Fernández-Albiñana (managing director).
Berlys – Julio Muñoz (chair).
Bellsolà – Bosco Fonts (general manager).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Exits
• Consumer
• Southern Europe
• Secondary buyout
• Spain
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)
• Alantra Private Equity