Ardian's Frulact buys Sensient's yoghurt division

Alessia Argentieri
23 June 2020

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Ardian-backed Frulact, a Portuguese producer of natural fruit-based ingredients for the food industry, has acquired the fruit yoghurt division of NYSE-listed company Sensient Technologies Corporation.

With this add-on, Frulact expects to consolidate its market position and further expand across the US market.

The two companies intend to ensure an efficient transition of Sensient's current yoghurt fruit product line to Frulact. In addition, as a result of this transaction, Sensient will become a core supplier of flavours, colours and other related products used by Frulact in its fruit preparation business.

Ardian bought Frulact from the founding Miranda family in January 2020, in a deal that gave the company an enterprise value of around €150m. The GP deployed capital from Ardian Buyout VII, a fund with a €6bn target and €6.5bn hard-cap. The vehicle targets European companies with enterprise values in the €175m-1.5bn range and expects to make around 20 investments.

Based in Maia, near Porto, Frulact specialises in the production of natural fruit-based and plant-based ingredients for dairy, ice-cream, desserts, beverages and food flavours. The company employs 750 people across nine production facilities located in Europe, Africa and North America, and sells its products in 40 countries worldwide, generating revenues of around €115m.

Company
Established in 1882 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sensient is a manufacturer of colours, flavours and speciality ingredients primarily for the food and beverage sector, but also for the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetic and personal care industries.

Its customer base includes a wide range of companies, from small entrepreneurial businesses to major international manufacturers.

Sensient employs 4,000 staff and has global operations in more than 150 countries. It generated operating income of $121m from revenues of $1.32bn in 2019.

People
Ardian – Philippe Poletti (head of Ardian France); Gonzalo Fernandez-Albiñana (head of Ardian Buyout Spain).
Frulact – Duarte Faria (CEO).
Sensient Technologies Corporation – Paul Manning (chair, president, CEO).