Fremman Capital to acquire a majority stake of The Natural Fruit Company
Fremman Capital (Fremman) and GPF Capital alongside existing shareholders, announce the closing of the acquisition of a majority stake in The Natural Fruit Company (TNFC) by Fremman. The company is a leading European player in the processing, distribution and commercialisation of citrus fruits including lemons, oranges, tangerines, pomegranates, and persimmons. This acquisition has a strong alignment with Fremman’s approach to ESG, where TNFC is a leader in organic varieties, limited processing and practices a zero-waste approach.
The Group, headquartered in Spain, is the resulting combination of three family businesses, which has helped to consolidate the company’s position as a leading international citrus player, being #1 lemon and #2 orange distributor in Europe. TNFC controls c. 900 hectares of plantations located across Spain, mainly oriented towards organic production, and has a total processing capacity of c. 400k tonnes of fruit per annum. It operates eight processing facilities strategically placed in Spain and has one logistics facility located in Perpignan (France).
The citrus market is expected to have long-term growth, driven by positive consumer trends (including an increase of Vitamin C consumption and general health awareness) as well as the increasing availability of citrus all year long, thanks to new varieties covering a broader campaign. Market leaders, like TNFC, are best placed to capture a larger share of this growth, as well as capitalise on the consolidation opportunities in this highly fragmented market. In this front, TNFC has a clear growth path envisaged to lead the consolidation trend in the industry through an active M&A strategy, leveraging its strong positioning and market reputation.
Fernando Castelló Naya and Francisco Marin – Co-CEOs at TNFC, jointly commented: “We are thrilled with the opportunity ahead. As strong believers in the business and compelling future, we are happy to continue backing The Natural Fruit Company in the long-term, and to welcome Fremman Capital into this new chapter together”.
Ricardo de Serdio – Founding Partner and CEO at Fremman, commented: “We are very pleased with the agreement reached with selling shareholders, and that GPF Capital will continue to be highly involved. GPF has done an excellent job as shareholder integrating three companies in less than two years, including backing a superb management team where all the main managers are very relevant shareholders, as well as growing the business significantly above market. We are confident that Fremman’s team’s expertise in business services and consumer goods, consolidation processes and ESG focus will support the management team to continue creating value in the future, through organic and inorganic growth.”
Buy-side advisors included:
Attalea (ESG), Ernst & Young (Financial, Legal, Labour, Tax), Greenhill (M&A), Jhasa (Insurance), Perez Llorca (Legal) and Roland Berger (Commercial).
Sell-side advisors included:
Lazard (M&A) and Uria Menendez (Legal).
About The Natural Fruit Company
The Natural Fruit Company (TNFC), headquartered in Spain, is the resulting combination of three companies (Fruxeresa, Frutas Naturales and Frugarva), dedicated to the processing and distribution of citric fruit. TNFC controls c. 900 hectares of plantations located across Spain (Valencia, Alicante, Almería, Murcia, Málaga and Huelva) and has a total production capacity of c. 400k tonnes of fruit per annum. TNFC is a leading citrus player in Europe, including #1 lemon and #2 orange distributor in Europe.
For more information, visit www.thenaturalfruit.com
About Fremman
Founded in 2020, Fremman is a pan-European, mid-market investment firm with offices in London, Madrid, Munich, and Paris. The firm is an established multi‐geography platform consisting of c.30 professionals that operates as one team. It is supported by a highly experienced Board of Advisors of 16 individuals that provide unique sector expertise and insights. The firm focuses on investments in four core sectors, including business & tech services, healthcare, consumer goods & distribution, and industrials. Utilising our reputation as trusted advisors, Fremman looks to partner with companies’ management teams to deploy multiple growth strategies, transforming businesses from national to multinational sustainable leaders.
For more information, visit www.fremman.com
About GPF
Founded in 2015 by Martín Rodríguez-Fraile, Ignacio Olascoaga, Lorenzo Martínez de Albornoz and Guillermo Castellanos, GPF is a private equity firm that currently manages more than € 700 million of capital between funds GPF Capital I, GPF Capital II, GPF Capital III and GPF Capital Real Estate. There is exclusive participation from family offices and private investors, from Spain, the US and Latin America.
For more information, visit www.gpf-capital.com
About Label Investments
Label Investments is the investment vehicle of Alexandre Pierron Darbonne, the former president of Planasa. Launched at the end of 2018, Label Investments is dedicated to investing in technology and major consumer trends in the agri-food sector.
The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in July 2021. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed
Contacts
Fremman Capital
Investor Relations: investorrelations@fremman.com
GPF Capital
Investor Relations: info@gpf-capital.com
