Houlihan Lokey Advises A&M Capital Europe

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that A&M Capital Europe (AMCE) has acquired World of Sweets and Bobby’s (together, IBG or the company). The transaction closed on 14 June 2023.

Headquartered in Loughborough, United Kingdom, IBG is a leading brand owner and tech-enabled distributor of confectionery, baked goods, and savoury snacks operating across two divisions: World of Sweets and Bobby’s. The company distributes products under its owned brands, including Bobby’s, Bonds of London, Kingsway, Crazy Candy Factory, and Candy Realms, whilst partnering with major international brands, such as Pez, Nerds, and Tootsie. IBG serves a diverse base of 60,000+ customers in the convenience retail, wholesale, and grocery channels across a range of routes-to-market, including direct distribution through van and field sales, cash and carry sites, an e-commerce platform, and wholesale distribution operations for national accounts.

As part of the transaction, Sculptor Capital Management, a leading alternative asset manager, will sell its majority stake in IBG, and the existing management team, led by CEO Wayne Beedle, will reinvest alongside AMCE.

AMCE is a pan-European, London-headquartered, middle-market private equity investment firm specialising in providing financial, strategic, and operational support to growing European businesses. AMCE Fund I currently has €650 million of assets under management, and IBG represents AMCE’s sixth transaction. More broadly, AMCE is part of A&M Capital, a multi-strategy private equity investment firm with €4.2 billion in assets under management across four investment strategies. In addition, A&M Capital maintains a strategic association with Alvarez & Marsal, one of the world’s largest operationally focused advisory firms.

Sculptor Capital Management, listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:SCU), is a multi-strategy and fully integrated alternative asset manager with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. The firm has $35.2 billion in assets under management and invests amongst a variety of investment strategies involving equities, credit, and convertible and derivative arbitrage.

Houlihan Lokey acted as the financial advisor to AMCE. This deal represents another successful transaction for Houlihan Lokey in the growing confectionery industry after recently completing the sale of Lily’s to Hershey’s, the acquisition of Natra by CapVest, and the sale of DeMet’s Candy Company to Yildiz Holding. Furthermore, this transaction follows Houlihan Lokey’s previous role in advising Innovative Bites on the acquisition of Hancocks Confectionery in 2017. With over 150 transactions announced since January 2021, Houlihan Lokey reinforces its global leadership in the consumer, food, and retail space.