Accelerating expansion: Cinven’s strategic investment in Barentz

26 Nov 2019 --- Global ingredients distributor Barentz International has announced that Cinven, an international private equity firm, is investing in the company. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Barentz distributes ingredients and additives for products to global customers and sources branded specialty ingredients from manufacturers worldwide. Cinven knows the specialty ingredients distribution market well and recognizes the opportunities for both organic and buy and build growth. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Through its active production facilities in Europe, North America and Asia, Barentz’ ingredient experts provide value-added technical support including pre-mixing, blending, ingredient formulation and ingredient testing.

Considering the distribution business is a structurally growing market, Barentz says it wants to continue to expand to serve its suppliers and customers on a global scale.

“We are excited to partner with Cinven to continue pursuing our growth strategy in an attractive market. This investment makes global expansion possible through the higher equity contribution and the improved lending capacity, where we will be focussing on M&As,” Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

“The investment is meant to enable the business to grow, given the highly fragmented market in which we operate,” he explains. “All stakeholders believe that Cinven is the right partner to help support the company in its next phase of growth, where the broader strategy is to position us from a pan European to a global life science ingredients supplier.”

Barentz has a strong market position in a structurally growing market for life science ingredients. In May, the company acquired Finland-based Casmo Oy, a specialized distributor of casings, smoke condensates and flavors for the meat industry. The takeover builds on Barentz’s current wide range of products and allows the company a greater diversity of sources for delivering quality solutions within the meat industry. 

The following month, Barentz entered into a joint venture with TasteStrik, a Dutch family business and a leading developer, producer and supplier of high-quality flavorings and ingredients for the bakery, cereal, chocolate, confectionery, culinary, dairy and specialty foods industry.

Ben Osnabrug, partner at Cinven, adds that Barentz has a strong presence in a structurally growing market. “The Cinven team knows the specialty distribution sector well, with the key trends driving the growth of the food and life sciences ingredients market including a shift towards natural ingredients, increased demand for customized formulations, and a growing share of manufacturers using distributors to drive market access and to improve efficiencies.”

“Cinven’s investment in Barentz resulted from a combination of our detailed sub-sector approach within Business Services, and our regional network in the Netherlands.”

By Gaynor Selby