By Anousha Sakoui and Alexander Marrow
(Reuters) -Goldman Sachs and the state-linked Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have invested in Haagen-Dazs owner Froneri, in a deal that values the ice cream company at around 15 billion euros ($17.6 billion), including debt.
Froneri is a joint venture between European buyout firm PAI Partners and Swiss packaged food giant Nestle.
PAI said on Thursday it had completed a 3.6-billion-euro deal that would create a new ownership structure for its 50% in Froneri, with a subsidiary of ADIA becoming a “significant minority co-investor” and a vehicle led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives also taking a stake.
It declined to give further details on the new ownership structure.
The deal values Froneri at around 15 billion euros including debt, two sources with knowledge of the situation said.
ICE CREAM BATTLE WITH RIVAL MAGNUM
Froneri is home to ice cream brands including Haagen-Dazs and Rowntree’s, and competes with Unilever’s soon-to-be spun off ice cream unit The Magnum Ice Cream Company. It has global revenues of $5.5 billion, PAI said in its statement.
Froneri was formed in 2016 as a 50:50 joint venture between Nestle and PAI unit R&R Ice Cream. It bought Nestle’s U.S. ice cream business in 2019 in a $4 billion deal.
The investment led by Goldman Sachs was via a so-called single-asset continuation vehicle.
Continuation vehicles are a popular new tool for private equity firms to keep assets longer than the life of the funds they originally bought the asset with.
PAI said demand from investors for the continuation vehicle was oversubscribed, adding that it showed strong demand for investing in Froneri’s growth prospects.
“We are proud to continue our journey with Froneri and Nestle, and to welcome ADIA and other leading global institutions as shareholders for Froneri’s next phase of growth,” said Frederic Stevenin, co-managing partner at PAI.
Nestle said: “We welcome the new investment in Froneri and the continued commitment of PAI Partners. Froneri is a successful joint venture that continues to delight consumers as a strong player in the ice cream category.”
One of the sources said that Nestle was retaining its 50% stake in Froneri. Nestle did not respond to a request for comment.
At 1200 GMT Nestle’s stock was up 0.4%.
Bloomberg and the Financial Times previously reported the potential deal and Goldman Sachs’ interest.
($1 = 0.8511 euros)
(Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru, Tristan Veyet in Gdansk, Anousha Sakoui and Alexander Marrow in London. Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Helen Reid and Mark Potter)
