Houlihan Lokey Advises Diversi Foods

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Diversi Foods has been acquired by Martin Braun-Gruppe from a group of shareholders including Diversi Foods' founding families and Waterland Private Equity. The transaction was signed on 6 December 2017 and closed on 26 February 2018.

Diversi Foods is an established supplier of premium frozen bakery goods for catering and restaurant trade and in-store bakeries. Production is focused on bread, rolls, and snacks. Diversi Foods’ strategy strives for consistently high quality, as demonstrated by its up-to-the-minute product concepts free from additives as well as its extended dough processing times. The company is headquartered in Belgium and has production sites in Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Poland. The company employs more than 1,000 staff and generates more than €150 million in annual revenue.

Martin Braun-Gruppe is part of Oetker Group’s food division. The company manufactures and offers a wide range of ingredients for sweet and savoury bakery products, bread, bread rolls, desserts, and ice cream for large-scale customers across all applicable sales channels on a global scale. The assortment includes pre-products and convenience products for further commercial processing as well as premium sweet and spicy frozen dough pieces. The premium frozen baked goods segment is addressed by subsidiary Wolf ButterBack. Martin Braun-Gruppe employs more than 1,700 staff at 13 locations around the world, supplies its products to more than 70 countries, and generates more than €350 million in annual revenue.

The takeover will ensure continuity in regard to both customer support and the existing management of Diversi Foods and Wolf ButterBack. Both companies will continue to be responsible for their respective businesses. Dr. Detlev Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors for Martin Braun-Gruppe’s management, sees significant benefits from the acquisition: “Diversi Foods and Wolf ButterBack represent an ideal combination both in terms of the countries and the products they focus on. In the future the Martin Braun-Gruppe will be able to offer the full range of premium frozen bakery goods across the European market, from croissants to bread rolls to various speciality breads and snacks. This acquisition will extend the range of products and services offered by the Martin Braun-Gruppe considerably.”

The transaction demonstrates Houlihan Lokey’s strong franchise in global bakery, particularly in Europe, with the firm having also advised on the sale of Dutch Bakery to Egeria in October 2017.