Houlihan Lokey Advises Hi-Food

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Hi-Food S.p.A. has been acquired by CSM Ingredients, portfolio company of Investindustrial. The shareholders of Hi-Food will reinvest a portion of their proceeds into CSM Ingredients, also taking on important roles in the areas of R&D and commercial management. The transaction closed on 24 February 2022.

Founded in 2012 in Parma, Italy, by Giampaolo Cagnin, Massimo Ambanelli, and Emanuele Pizzigalli (in close collaboration with the University of Parma), Hi-Food is an Italian developer and producer of innovative plant-based, natural, and clean-label functional ingredients for the food and beverage industry, boasting on remarkable R&D capabilities.

The company offer is characterised by the presence of highly selected ingredients of natural origin, free from chemical additives. The company is well positioned to play a key role in the plant-based alternative market and in the “free-from” industry, serving a wide range of sectors—such as conventional bakery, gluten-free, gastronomy, sauces, fillings, dessert, ice cream, and beverages—and selling more than 70% of its products abroad.

Headquartered in Luxembourg, with an annual turnover of around €500 million, CSM Ingredients is a leading supplier of high-quality ingredients serving artisanal and industrial bakers, global foodservice operators, and retail chains in more than 100 countries. CSM Ingredients offers a wide range of bakery fats, pastry and bread ingredients, and solutions for multiple industrial applications in bakery, dairy, nondairy, and ice cream industries.

With the acquisition of Hi-Food, CSM Ingredients takes yet another decisive step with the creation of an Italian ingredient tech hub dedicated to uncovering transformative solutions for the world of food.

Investindustrial is a leading investment house providing industrial expertise, operational focus, long-term capital, and global platforms to accelerate value creation and international expansion for its portfolio companies. Founded in 1990 out of an industrial group and with €11 billion of raised fund capital, Investindustrial is one of Europe’s leading independent investment groups focused on taking control positions predominantly in Southern European medium-sized companies.

Houlihan Lokey acted as the sole financial advisor to Hi-Food throughout the sale process, from the preparation of the initial marketing material for the company and the initial contacts with potential buyers to the final negotiation with the counterparty.

The transaction demonstrates Houlihan Lokey’s strength in the plant-based, natural, and clean-label food and beverage ingredient sector as well as the benefits of deep local relationships, coupled with industry expertise. All these provided for achieving superior valuation and outcomes for the client.