Private equity groups Advent International and CVC Capital have teamed up to bid for Partner in Pet Food (PPF), a European pet food producer owned by Cinven, the Financial Times has reported.
Advent and CVC were the two remaining investors competing in the process to acquire PFF, which manufacturers branded pet food and own-label products for retailers. While the talks are ongoing, people familiar with the matters told the Financial Times that there is no certainty a deal will be reached. Cinven had previously sought a valuation of roughly €2 billion (US$2.16 billion) for the business, the report added.
According to Petfood Industry's Top Pet Food Companies listing, PPF was created via a series of acquisitions between 2000 and 2006 by Dutch company Provimi, and has its headquarters in Budapest, Hungary. The company supplies retailers, discounters, specialty pet retailers and online specialists in 38 countries. The company makes a full value range of dry, wet and semi-moist cat and dog food, alucups, pouches and snacks with operations in 10 countries: The Netherlands, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, France, Italy, Romania, Sweden, Germany. With 11 factories across Europe, PPF claims it is the only market operator with an integrated pan-European production network. It produces nearly 500,000 tons of pet food yearly.
According to the Financial Times, since Cinven, a global private equity firm, acquired PPF six years ago it has expanded the business through acquisitions. PPF had about €690 million (US$747 million) sales in 2022 and €800 million (US$867 million) in 2023.
