OC&C advised Apheon on a deal in frozen bakery sector with Vandemoortele

We’re pleased to congratulate Apheon on their recent agreement with Vandemoortele, which acquired a majority stake in Dolciaria Acquaviva, a leading Italian producer of high-quality frozen bakery products. OC&C supported Apheon sell-side.

Founded in 1979 by the Acquaviva family and headquartered in Naples, Dolciaria Acquaviva is a leading manufacturer of frozen bakery products, with an extensive portfolio consisting of both sweet and savoury products. With four modern production lines located in a cutting-edge factory in Naples and three smaller plants in Northern Italy, the Company serves more than 40,000 customers all over Italy, particularly in the “Ho.Re.Ca.” (hotels, restaurants, and cafés) channel, through directly managed commercial branches and select distributors.

Apheon acquired a majority stake in Dolciaria in July 2019, recognising the opportunity to consolidate a market with an upward trend riding on the “fresh-to-frozen” switch of the Italian consumer, as well as expanding the Company’s production capabilities to strengthen its direct route-to-market across Italy. Despite navigating a post-pandemic challenging macroeconomic environment, the Company was able to maintain best-in-class margins and cash-flow generation. This resulted in revenues and EBITDA more than doubling over Apheon’s holding perio, underpinned by solid volume growth.

Vandemoortele intends to fulfill its ambition of being a leading, global frozen bakery group by building its presence in Southern Europe while further increasing penetration across all Italian regions.

OC&C and Private Equity
We’re a leading global strategy consultancy, with deep expertise in the consumer goods market including the frozen goods sub-sector. In private equity, we have commercially advised on more than 500 successful transactions over the last 5 years, encompassing sell-side and buy-side roles with both major global corporations and local champions.

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