Dublin-based Valeo Foods is acquiring Schluckwerder Group, maker of Lübeck marzipan, from German investment firm Novum Capital. At the end of 2018, Novum Capital began installing a new leadership team for Schluckwerder Group, including a CEO, COO and CFO. This allowed former Rolf Schluckwerder to retire.
Since then, Schluckwerder, Germany’s leading manufacturer of marzipan, nougat and praline, has grown, with sales reaching €99 million ($120.56 million) in 2019. The company had more than 550 employees in 2019, Novum Capital reported.
Schluckwerder’s management team — CEO Gérard Rog, COO Jochen Rock and CFO Marc Dieck — will remain on board after the Valeo Foods acquisition.
“We are delighted to have a new shareholder in Valeo Foods who sees the strengths and potential of our company as well as supports the management team and our growth strategy,” Rog said in a statement translated from German.
Founded in 2010 by the merger of Batchelors and Origin Foods, Valeo is owned by London-based private equity fund CapVest Partners. The company has pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy, making its 18th acquisition with the Schluckwerder Group. In 2017, Valeo Foods acquired the Big Bear portfolio of confectionery brands from Raisio, followed by UK-based Tangerine Confectionery in 2018.
With the Schluckwerder acquisition, Valeo Foods’ annual turnover will increase to €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion).
“Schluckwerder is a great company and our first acquisition in Germany,” said Valeo Foods Group CEO Seamus Kearney in a statement translated from German. “With the purchase, we are continuing our strategy of building a large international food company.”
Novum Capital was supported in the M&A and financing-specific transaction by Network Corporate Finance, in legal matters by the commercial law firm Kümmerlein and in tax matters by the tax consultancy Taxess.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
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Editor, International Confectionery
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