JP Morgan Advise IK Investment’s Acquisition of Cérélia Group

Financial Adviser – Edouard Debost

Financial Due Diligence -Daniel Benquis

IK VII Fund, advised by IK Investment Partners, announced an investment in Cérélia Group, a leading European manufacturer of ready-to-use dough. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

In 2012, the merger of EuroDough and L’Alsacienne de Pâtes Ménagères created Cérélia, bringing together nearly 40 years of experience. Today, Cérélia is a leading European manufacturer of ready-to-use private label dough, generating sales of EUR 212 million in 2014. The Company has a wide product range that includes rolled pie dough, pizza dough, exotic dough, pastries, cake batter and organic dough, selling its products both through private labels and its own brands Croustipate and Pop! Bakery. In total the Company has four production plants and 650 employees. The IK VII Fund is acquiring Cérélia from Sagard, the majority shareholder since 2012, Capzanine, Cerea Capital and BNP Développement.

“We are delighted to partner up with Guillaume Réveilhac and his team at Cérélia. Our intention is to strengthen the European and international development of the company by allowing Cérélia to make significant add-on acquisitions,” says Rémi Buttiaux, Partner at IK and advisor to IK VII Fund.

“We are excited to partner with IK as they have an impressive track record in the food industry in Europe. We expect to get strong benefit from their expertise and network and are committed together to develop the group, organically and through acquisitions. Our plan is to broaden the company’s leading position in new segments and new geographies. Sagard has been a valuable partner for our company, facilitating the merger between EuroDough and APM. With IK, the Cérélia team is looking forward to writing the next chapter of our journey,” says Guillaume Réveilhac, CEO of Cérélia.

“We are proud to have been the catalyst of the great industrial project that has been Cérélia. This performance has been largely driven by Guillaume Reveilhac and his talented team: everyone within the group did their best to make the EuroDough-APM merger a huge success. We are now confident that IK Investment Partners will continue to support the company’s growth,” said Antoine Ernoult-Dairaine at Sagard Partner.