Houlihan Lokey Advises the Owners of Volac’s Whey Nutrition Business

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Volac’s Whey Nutrition business has agreed to be acquired by Arla Foods Ingredients. The transaction was signed on 18 April 2024 and is subject to CMA regulatory approval.

Founded in 1970, Volac is a family-owned business specialising in turning whey into ingredients for sports nutrition, with the by-products being sold for food and animal nutrition. At its heart is its whey processing facility in Felinfach, Wales.

Arla Foods Ingredients is a global leader in improving premium nutrition. Together with its customers, research partners, suppliers, NGOs, and others, it discovers and delivers documented ingredients and products that can advance lifelong nutrition for the benefit of consumers around the world. Arla Foods Ingredients is part of Arla Foods, one of the largest dairy co-operatives globally, based in Denmark.

The acquisition would play a significant role in Arla Foods Ingredients’ future plans. It envisions the Felinfach site as a global production hub and a cornerstone of an enhanced product offering in the performance, health, and food sectors.

Luis Cubel, Group Vice President and Managing Director of Arla Foods Ingredients, said: “This brings together two complementary offerings in a growing and increasingly international space for whey products. Volac is a pioneer in the use of whey protein for performance nutrition and has a wealth of expertise as well as an incredibly talented team. It shares our commitment to helping companies worldwide harness the full potential of whey, and we’re hugely excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.”

For Volac, this transaction represents a logical step in its evolution as a family business and provides the springboard for the optimal development of the Whey Nutrition Business as well as Volac’s remaining Animal Nutrition Business.

James Neville, joint owner of Volac, on behalf of the Neville family, said: “Whey processing started at the Felinfach site more than three decades ago, and we couldn’t be prouder of everything that’s been achieved by everyone involved in the business since then. When considering the future of Volac Whey Nutrition and the opportunities that lie ahead for that business, it was crucial for us to choose a partner with the right values and expertise. Arla Foods Ingredients has the ambition and the knowledge to take the business to the next level.”

This deal represents another successful transaction for Houlihan Lokey in the European nutrition and ingredients sectors following the sales of Sunday Naturals to CVC, the partnership between yfood and Nestle, the sale of Anastasi to irca, and the sale of HiFood to CSM. With more than 100 transactions announced since January 2022, Houlihan Lokey has reinforced its global leadership in the consumer space.

Houlihan Lokey served as Volac’s exclusive financial advisor and assisted in structuring and negotiating key aspects of the transaction on its behalf.

Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval by the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority, which is expected later this year.

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