Partner in Pet Food (“PPF”), a market-leading European pet food manufacturer, is pleased to welcome CVC Capital Partners IX as its new majority shareholder, alongside its existing investor Cinven. The new partnership will aim to accelerate the business’s European expansion strategy and objective to continuously improve the health benefits of its products.
PPF produces a full range of pet food products from 12 facilities around Europe, and supplies more than 280 customers in over 35 countries, including speciality pet retailers, general food retailers, discounters, and online specialists. Its product range includes both private label and branded pet food covering all categories, quality tiers and price points, including wet and dry food, snacks and treats in a variety of serving formats. PPF is one of few truly pan-European players – it manufactured c.700 thousand tons of pet food and had revenues of approximately €800 million in 2023.
Gerald Kuehr, CEO of Partner in Pet Food, said: “We are delighted that CVC will become our new majority shareholder as we continue our successful premiumisation strategy supplemented by an accelerated M&A path, which we started four years ago. In CVC, we welcome a partner that is fully supportive of our passion for people and pets in a healthy environment and this will enhance our ability to continue producing healthy products for our end consumers. My colleagues and I are looking forward to the next chapter of PPF’s successful growth journey with CVC.”
István Szőke, CVC, said: “We have been tracking this company for over a decade and have been impressed by its transformation into a pan European champion under Gerald’s leadership. While PPF represents our first Hungary headquartered investment, we have significant experience in the broader region and the sector through existing investments in our global private equity business.”
This is an exciting opportunity to invest in a company with an outstanding track record and proven business model.
Jakub Canda Senior Managing Director
Jakub Canda, CVC, added: “This is an exciting opportunity to invest in a company with an outstanding track record and proven business model. We are very impressed with the quality of the management team and their ability to continue generating growth ahead of the market over many years and through cycles. We are looking forward to supporting the company in its next phase of growth and in particular with larger M&A.”
CVC’s CEEMEA team have been building better businesses in central and eastern Europe for more than 15 years and have a successful track record backing companies in the region that have started small and have grown into pan European consolidators. Recent examples of this include FutureLife, a leading provider of IVF and related genetics services, and D-Marin, a premium yacht marina operator across Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Spain, Turkey and the UAE.
The closing of the transaction is subject to approval by the relevant regulatory authorities and is expected in Q3 2024. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.