Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) has agreed to acquire Kalle GmbH, one of the largest makers of artificial casings used in the meat processing industry.
Kalle’s casings are used in the pork, beef, poultry and vegetarian protein categories. Last year, the company had revenues of €281 million and produced more than 850 million meters of casings (just over 528,000 miles – or 21 times around the earth). The company was founded in 1872 and has facilities in nine countries and is headquartered in Wiesbaden (www.kalle-group.webseiten.cc/en).
CD&R Partner Vindi Banga, a former member of the Unilever Executive Board, will assume the role of Chairman of Kalle at the close of the transaction which is expected around the end of the first half of 2016.
“Kalle is a proven innovator with a highly differentiated offering to customers which improves product quality and production processes – this is particularly apparent in the value-added casings segment where Kalle pioneered the category and is the global leader today,” said Mr. Banga. “We believe Kalle is well-positioned to capitalize on its growth momentum, strong product mix and exceptional R&D capabilities to further penetrate the global market.”
“Our investment model is based on helping businesses grow profitably,” said CD&R Partner Sonja Terraneo. “We have been following Kalle’s progress for many years and look forward to working with Kalle’s management and employees to continue its sales and profit growth and to make the company an even more valuable enterprise over the long term.”
CD&R invests in European and US-based businesses. Since founding in 1978 the firm has invested $21 billion in 66 companies across a range of industries with an aggregate transaction value of approximately $100 billion. CD&R is based in New York and London (www.cdr-inc.com).
“Kalle is a resilient market leader and growing business with a strong German heritage and excellent customer exposure globally, particularly in the growing US market,” said CD&R Partner David Novak. “It is also a great fit with CD&R’s focus on both consumer and industrial businesses in Europe, which have global reach, as well as our deep industry experience in foodservice.”
Committed financing for this transaction is being provided by Bank of Ireland (www.bankofireland.com), ING Group (www.ing.com), UniCredit (www.unicreditgroup.eu), BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com/en), HSBC (www.hsbc.com), Societe Generale (www.societegenerale.com/en), Crédit Agricole (www.ca-cib.com), Sumitomo Mitsui (www.smbc.co.jp), and Oaktree Capital (www.oaktreecapital.com).
Freshfields (www.freshfields.com) and Debevoise & Plimpton (www.debevoise.com) were the legal advisors to CD&R and PwC (www.pwc.com) and William Blair (www.williamblair.com) acted as financial advisors.
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 5-3-16
